In economics, the concept of preferences is fundamental to the theory of choice. In many demand analyses, preferences are taken as given, although interesting questions can be asked about how they originate. In this paper, we consider the formation of preferences in demand for live theatre. We propose a model where preferences are derived from certain identifiable types of experience gained from past attendances at live theatre productions, as well as from some characteristics of consumers including their theatre-related human capital and their habitual behaviour patterns in attending a performance. We hypothesise that the preferences formed through these processes determine conditional demand for future live theatre consumption. The model is estimated as a two-stage system using data from a recent survey of theatregoers. The paper is interdisciplinary in its approach, drawing its modelling and methodologies from economics, and its interpretation of results from the academic discipline of theatre studies.

The relationship between trade liberalisation and cultural diversity is a long-standing and controversial issue in many countries that strive to promote free flow of cultural trade as well as to sustain local cultural production. The controversy is partly attributable to multiple meanings attached to the notion of cultural diversity. In this paper we propose three operational definitions of cultural diversity relevant in the context of international cultural trade: national, inter-national and global cultural diversity. We suggest measures of these three types of cultural diversity and apply them to data for the global motion picture industry covering 37 countries/regions for years 2009-2019. We argue that the three types of cultural diversity may operate in opposite directions as a result of lower trade barriers. The paper concludes by considering the implications for cultural policy arising from our analysis.

Interdisciplinary collaboration is a useful tool both for attacking existing research questions from a range of angles and for producing new research questions. This article focusses on the practical development of an audience questionnaire by academics from theatre studies and cultural economics. As we demonstrate, the creation of research questionnaires is a complex task, especially so when part of interdisciplinary research. By documenting how we used techniques from devised theatre, including playfulness, that are likely to be familiar to theatre studies academics, we argue for the value of practical as well as theoretical theatre studies skills and knowledge in interdisciplinary collaboration.

Literary festivals have emerged as a key component of development strategies in the global south. The unique cultural, social, and commercial aspects of these events can contribute to the promotion of sustainable cultural and economic development, and can assist in destination branding for the locations where they are held. This paper presents an evaluation of these impacts for a specific case study, the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF), held annually in Bali, Indonesia. Surveys of festival attendees and local businesses were conducted, along with interviews of writers appearing at the festival. The findings suggest that the UWRF successfully provides a platform upon which international attendees and writers can engage with Indonesian culture. The festival is also found to generate a modest positive economic impact. For many attendees, the UWRF is a 'destination' festival to which visitors return year after year. Overall, this paper supports the proposition that literary festivals in the global south can make a distinctive contribution to cultural and economic development as well as to the visibility of a literary destination.

Non-pecuniary rewards to work, or psychic income, are a pervasive phenomenon in several labour markets, yet they have been little investigated either theoretically or empirically. Creative industries are a particular case where non-monetary incentives are widely observed. These are also industries where moonlighting commonly occurs because artistic or creative activity is generally low paid, such that workers have to balance their chosen pursuit with another job to make ends meet. In this paper we propose a labour supply model that accounts for the psychic income derived from creative work, monetary remuneration and heterogeneity between occupations in a multiple job-holding context. The model is estimated using three-stage least squares, allowing us to control for simultaneity bias due to the constraint of time and the tendency for multiple job-holdings. We estimate the model using data from a survey of Australian book authors. The use of a proxy for psychic income, measured as the disparity between an author's monetary compensation and a shadow price of labour, enables us to gauge the effects of non-pecuniary benefits on the labour supply decisions of this type of creative worker.

Cultural policy in China has both economic and cultural objectives. In this paper we consider how these two objectives are linked through increases in cultural output. We use a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the Chinese economy to analyse the impact of cultural investment on the output of cultural goods and services between 2009 and 2015, and we carry forward the simulations to 2030. Our results show that this cultural policy instrument has had a positive impact on the output of cultural goods and services in a manner that also underpins the purely cultural objectives of government.

Studies aiming at valuing cultural and natural heritage projects are often focussed on one or only a few sites, whereas planning decisions concerning the allocation of public funds to heritage conservation deal with classes of heritage rather than single sites. In addition, such planning decisions are almost always concerned with non-monetary values that need to be incorporated into assessment procedures if the total value of alternative strategies is to be estimated. In this paper, we put forward and estimate models to address both of these issues within a choice-modelling framework. The method is developed in the context of conservation of a particular class of cultural heritage, namely major historic buildings in a city or country. We report results from a discrete choice experiment to assess public preferences in which the choices are alternative conservation programs and the attributes are dimensions of the programs’ cultural and economic value. The model is estimated from survey data using several flexible econometric specifications. We show that the methods developed can be used to obtain robust estimates of the economic value of this category of buildings. We also find a significant contribution of all aspects of cultural value to the formation of conservation preferences and the public’s willingness to pay.

There is a gap between theory and practice in the valuation of urban cultural heritage assets and the application of valuation methods in the policy arena. This special issue addresses current debates in urban heritage conservation that engage with the conceptual, methodological and practical problems in the field. In this introductory paper, we begin by discussing the special issue's rationale and theoretical foundation. We outline the conceptual framework which derives from the economic concept of cultural capital and its associated range of values. The paper goes on to discuss methodological issues in heritage valuation and their usefulness in urban policymaking. Our paper highlights the role that economic valuation techniques might have in developing a participatory approach to the management of urban cultural heritage within an integrated policy framework. This paper concludes by summarising the papers brought together in this collection.

In proposing strategies for urban development in cities and towns with significant cultural heritage assets, there is considerable scope for implementation of projects involving rehabilitation of heritage as an alternative to demolition and replacement. Such projects are particularly relevant in cases where the heritage is concentrated in a historic core that is subject to deterioration or to relentless encroachment by urban expansion. In recent years there has been increasing interest in the possibilities for heritage-led investment as an effective means of generating a range of economic, social and cultural benefits while maintaining and enhancing the integrity of a city's historic assets. This paper outlines a methodology for evaluating these impacts and applies it to the case of the historic centre of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The results indicate the significant potential for a program of heritage-led investment in Historic Jedda as a focus for further rehabilitation of the World Heritage site.

Indicators for the World Culture Report Following the recommendation of the World Commission on Culture and Development in its report entitled ‘Our Cultural Diversity’, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) published two World Culture Reports, in 1998 and 2000. Culture or culture-related indicators were presented for 150 countries with a population of one million or more, as well as for ten regional groupings. Nearly 200 data items were included and this chapter reviews this experience of collecting, compiling, analysing and presenting these indicators and discusses some of the implications and concerns that became apparent as the work was carried out. The indicators for the first Report had to be drawn from material that was readily available. This clearly limited the depth and scope of the analysis, as many important cultural concerns are not adequately reflected through existing statistics and consequently were not included in the Report. The culture indicators do not pretend to measure world culture, which is tremendously complex and multifaceted. Rather, the Report presents those aspects of world culture that were readily measurable. One of the aims of the project, however, was to start a process of broadening those measurable and reported aspects of world culture so that subsequent Reports would be able to present a more complete picture. Many cultural concerns were omitted simply because too few countries could provide comparable reliable data. Other cultural elements were omitted because no satisfactory means of expressing them in tabular form had yet been developed. The more important cultural omissions make a formidable list. They include cultural freedom; cultural discrimination; rights of and support to minority cultures; freedom of linguistic expression; freedom to travel; leading religions, religious attendance and freedom of worship; cultural tolerance; ethnicity; official languages, spoken languages and dialects; cultural education; cultural participation; the most-visited sites and popular festivals; cultural prizes; art galleries; music performances; professional arts and crafts; cultural industries and cultural labour force; artists, writers and musicians; the condition of the artist; intellectual property and copyright; taxes and tax allowances on cultural goods and services;