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Culture Brings Prosperity, According to ifo Research Report

Key findings of cesifo research paper “Music in the Air: Estimating the Social Return to Cultural Amenities” include:

  • Culture is expensive but worth it: Expenditure on cultural institutions have a positive effect on income in the region
  • The ifo researchers understand their results as an argument supporting subsidies for cultural institutions
  • According to their research on opera houses it is unclear, however, whether a country as a whole benefits from investment into individual region’s cultural sector

The report is available for download, with a summary in English.

A comment in the SZ hence warns cities and municipalities to cut the culture budgets under the influence of current financial pressure: These cuts may seem quick and easy but could have devastating indirect effects.

Controversial Sale Of Northrhine-Westphalia’s Warhols

Critics fear this might be only the beginning of selling from the state’s art collection to help fill household gaps. Read more: RP-Online: Umstrittener Verkauf. NRW-Warhols in New York für 151,5 Millionen Dollar versteigert and faz.net: Fort mit dem Nutzen. Die Warhol-Versteigerung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen erhitzt die Gemüter. Warum aber gibt es überhaupt staatlich finanzierte Kultur und nicht nur den Kunstmarkt?