Economic theory of museums
A cultural economics field concerned with the economic implications of museums / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The economic theory of museums is a field of cultural economics that focuses on the economic functioning of museums.
More specifically, the economic theory of museums mainly analyzes museum activity within two frameworks.[1] Firstly, a museum can be considered as an economic unit (like a business), viewed from the angle of the relationship between its inputs (collections, budget, employees) and its output (sales, exhibitions, media presence, scientific publications). Within this framework, the effect of museums on other sectors can also be studied in terms of employment or sales generated. Secondly, it can be studied as a neoclassical economic[nb 1][nb 1] agent maximizing an objective under a constraint of allocation of scarce resources.
The economic analysis of museums highlights the fundamental impact of financing methods (subsidies, own resources, donations) on museum policy in terms of collection management, artistic orientation (towards the general public or connoisseurs) and the implementation of activities designed to increase resources.
Since the 1980s, the number of museums[2] has risen sharply, and a star system[3] has emerged for museums located in touristic destinations, housed in spectacular buildings and boasting world-famous works in their collections. These museums are attracting a growing share of visitors, while other museums, though increasingly numerous, are seeing their attendance decline.[3]
Like the rest of cultural economics, the economic theory of museums is a relatively recent branch of economics. In fact, economic analysis only began to be applied to museums in the 1980s, as the number of museums multiplied and trade-offs were made necessary by the climate of budgetary austerity that called into question public subsidies in all fields, and particularly in culture.