The course of economics of the arts and of cultural policies course focuses on the economics and management of cultural institutions, both in the public (museums, theaters, superintendencies) and in the private (galleries, etc.) sector. After an introduction to the discipline of the economics of art and culture, the course will focus on the main institutions in which artistic and cultural services are provided, such as theaters, orchestras, museums and galleries, as well as cultural districts. An important part of the course will be dedicated to the management and promotion of cultural heritage and art markets. This course is very important for countries, such as Italy, which preserve an important cultural heritage and aim to further promote and expand it, for touristic purposes. The topic includes a series of approaches, neoclassical, welfare economics, public policy and institutional economics, with emphasis on both theoretical and empirical analyses.
teacher profile teaching materials
Program:
1. DEFINITION
- Definitions of "creative industries".
- Forms
- Sectors
- Theories and classification models
2. VALUES OF CREATIVITY
- Conditions of creativity
- Elements of creativity
- Cultural value and functional value
- Expressive value
- Creativity index
- Copyright value
3. CULTURAL CONSUMPTION
- Copyright, publishing, and entertainment
- SIAE, Istat, and indicators
- Live entertainment and cinema
- Types of consumption and supply in entertainment:
- Differences, analogies, creative intersections
4. CASE STUDY: Entertainment consumption in 2019 and 2020 (Covid)
- The novelty of streaming consumption
5. CASE STUDY: LIVE MUSIC
- Private music industry: the Jova Beach model
- Public-private: the Verona Arena
- The production model of lyrical theater
- Foundation example: La Scala Theater
- Baumol's syndrome
6. PUBLIC EXPENDITURE AND CULTURE
- Examples of cultural expenditure
- The notion of added value
- The notion of "cultural policies"
- Model: Ministry of Culture
- Examples: Ministry of Culture in Italy and France
7. CULTURAL PARTICIPATION AND CITIZENS' EXPENDITURE
- Indicators and sectors of cultural expenditure
- Age groups
- Example: differences in 2018 and 2020 (Covid)
- The notion of non-participation and its analysis
- Analysis criteria: characteristics and status
8. SOCIETY AND CREATIVITY
- Fields of creative production
- Social value
- Creative atmospheres
- Creative cities
- Cultural districts
- Classification models and examples
9. THE ART MARKET
- Auction houses
- Collecting
- The value and pricing of artworks
- Western and Eastern markets
10. THE MUSEUM
- Museum institution
- Functions:
- Conservation
- Research
- Collection management
- Exhibitions
- Business-to-business offerings
11. THE MUSEUM AS AN EXPERIENCE
- Forms of accessibility
- Tools for enjoyment
- Museum mediation
- New technologies and mediation
- Immersive and virtual forms
12. MUSEUM AND SOCIETY
- Museums and architecture
- Museum tourism and major destinations worldwide
- Italian museum institutes
- Archaeological and monumental sites
13. MUSEUMS AND VALUE
- Economic forms of museums (State, private, non-profit)
- Museum capital
- Museum projects
- Financing forms
- Autonomy and privatization
- Tangible and intangible value
- Cultural heritage
- Value measurement
- Museum issues:
- Financing
- Congestion
- Art bonus
14. THE DISPERSED MUSEUM
- The Naples subway
- The "mandatory" museum
- The economic value of beauty
- Murals
- Urban regeneration
15. EXHIBITIONS
- Exhibition definition
- The world's most visited exhibitions: not just art
- The allure of exhibitions: ancient art, contemporary art, archaeology, spectacle
16. FESTIVALS
- Definition
- Festival as a format
- Artistic festivals: music, theater, performing arts, cinema
- Festivals in Italy
- Cultural festivals: literature, thought, science, economy, etc.
- Elements and contents of cultural festivals
- Economics and expenditure items of cultural festivals
- Economic impact
- Social return
17. THE FILM INDUSTRY
- Definition of the cinema product
- Elements of the film industry:
- Production
- Distribution
- Exhibition
- Historical arc of cinema
- Hollywood's evolution
- Studio system elements (1920-1950): majors and "vertical integration"
- Dissolution of the studio system
- New Hollywood and independent production
- The blockbuster concept
- Post-Hollywood and mergers after 2000
18. CINEMA AND MEDIA AFTER 2000
- Integration of production and distribution
- New blockbusters
- New studios
- M & E media and entertainment
- M & A mergers and acquisitions
- Major acquisitions:
- Disney and Fox
- Amazon and MGM
- Comcast and Sky
- AT&T and Warner
19. THE DISNEY MODEL
- Diversification strategy
- Disney projects
- Technology+imagination recipe
- Economic-historical arc of Disney
20. PIXAR
- Innovative model
- Corporate and creative evolution
- Disney-Pixar relationship
- Disney acquisitions of creative industries: Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Fox
- Evolution towards Disney+ and new distribution channels
21. CREATIVE INDUSTRY AND THE WEB
- Web evolution: .1, .2, .3
- Web subjects: structures, content, services
- OTTP media over the top and platforms
- Subject hybridization (production, distribution, technology)
- Creative products online
- Evolution of the music industry
- Evolution of the publishing industry
- User as a creative subject
- UGC user-generated content
- User sharing as a creative practice
- Role of influencers
22. STREAMING AND VIDEO
- Video streaming and Netflix
- Evolution of the television industry
- New video-on-demand distribution: VOD and its variations
- From Blockbuster to Netflix
- VOD distribution in Italy
- "Streaming wars" (Netflix, Prime, Disney)
- Creative content and cost, demand, supply phenomenon
23. TRANSMEDIALITY
- From schedule to algorithm
- Transmedia storytelling
- Franchising
- "Creative destruction" on the web and in entertainment
- Metaverse and virtual reality
24. LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
- Definitions, genres, and trends (live concerts, theme parks, resorts and dining, sports industry, cruises, casinos).
- Case study: Live Nation and live concerts.
25. PERFORMING ARTS
- Theater: myth and catharsis to nurture product vision.
- The theatrical ecosystem of industrial and creative supporting figures.
- Permanent show industry
- Case study: A transversal model of creative economy. The TAM Arcimboldi in Milan
- Case study: "high art" and commercial spectacle. The National Theatre in London
- Broadway industry and commercial theater system.
- Elitist target and audience development: production and communication in subsidized theater.
Françoise Benhamou, "L' economia della cultura"; Il Mulino, 2020.
Walter Santagata "Il governo della cultura"; Il Mulino, 2014.
Course materials indicated by the instructor.
Programme
The course is divided into two modules, aimed at allowing students to learn both the general foundations of microeconomic theory and the application of these fundamentals to a broad field such as cultural production and consumption. In the first module, students will be introduced to the main concepts of microeconomics, with a focus on the analysis of demand and supply in art, culture, and entertainment, considering the major artistic and cultural sectors from an economic perspective. Specific sectors will then be analyzed.Program:
1. DEFINITION
- Definitions of "creative industries".
- Forms
- Sectors
- Theories and classification models
2. VALUES OF CREATIVITY
- Conditions of creativity
- Elements of creativity
- Cultural value and functional value
- Expressive value
- Creativity index
- Copyright value
3. CULTURAL CONSUMPTION
- Copyright, publishing, and entertainment
- SIAE, Istat, and indicators
- Live entertainment and cinema
- Types of consumption and supply in entertainment:
- Differences, analogies, creative intersections
4. CASE STUDY: Entertainment consumption in 2019 and 2020 (Covid)
- The novelty of streaming consumption
5. CASE STUDY: LIVE MUSIC
- Private music industry: the Jova Beach model
- Public-private: the Verona Arena
- The production model of lyrical theater
- Foundation example: La Scala Theater
- Baumol's syndrome
6. PUBLIC EXPENDITURE AND CULTURE
- Examples of cultural expenditure
- The notion of added value
- The notion of "cultural policies"
- Model: Ministry of Culture
- Examples: Ministry of Culture in Italy and France
7. CULTURAL PARTICIPATION AND CITIZENS' EXPENDITURE
- Indicators and sectors of cultural expenditure
- Age groups
- Example: differences in 2018 and 2020 (Covid)
- The notion of non-participation and its analysis
- Analysis criteria: characteristics and status
8. SOCIETY AND CREATIVITY
- Fields of creative production
- Social value
- Creative atmospheres
- Creative cities
- Cultural districts
- Classification models and examples
9. THE ART MARKET
- Auction houses
- Collecting
- The value and pricing of artworks
- Western and Eastern markets
10. THE MUSEUM
- Museum institution
- Functions:
- Conservation
- Research
- Collection management
- Exhibitions
- Business-to-business offerings
11. THE MUSEUM AS AN EXPERIENCE
- Forms of accessibility
- Tools for enjoyment
- Museum mediation
- New technologies and mediation
- Immersive and virtual forms
12. MUSEUM AND SOCIETY
- Museums and architecture
- Museum tourism and major destinations worldwide
- Italian museum institutes
- Archaeological and monumental sites
13. MUSEUMS AND VALUE
- Economic forms of museums (State, private, non-profit)
- Museum capital
- Museum projects
- Financing forms
- Autonomy and privatization
- Tangible and intangible value
- Cultural heritage
- Value measurement
- Museum issues:
- Financing
- Congestion
- Art bonus
14. THE DISPERSED MUSEUM
- The Naples subway
- The "mandatory" museum
- The economic value of beauty
- Murals
- Urban regeneration
15. EXHIBITIONS
- Exhibition definition
- The world's most visited exhibitions: not just art
- The allure of exhibitions: ancient art, contemporary art, archaeology, spectacle
16. FESTIVALS
- Definition
- Festival as a format
- Artistic festivals: music, theater, performing arts, cinema
- Festivals in Italy
- Cultural festivals: literature, thought, science, economy, etc.
- Elements and contents of cultural festivals
- Economics and expenditure items of cultural festivals
- Economic impact
- Social return
17. THE FILM INDUSTRY
- Definition of the cinema product
- Elements of the film industry:
- Production
- Distribution
- Exhibition
- Historical arc of cinema
- Hollywood's evolution
- Studio system elements (1920-1950): majors and "vertical integration"
- Dissolution of the studio system
- New Hollywood and independent production
- The blockbuster concept
- Post-Hollywood and mergers after 2000
18. CINEMA AND MEDIA AFTER 2000
- Integration of production and distribution
- New blockbusters
- New studios
- M & E media and entertainment
- M & A mergers and acquisitions
- Major acquisitions:
- Disney and Fox
- Amazon and MGM
- Comcast and Sky
- AT&T and Warner
19. THE DISNEY MODEL
- Diversification strategy
- Disney projects
- Technology+imagination recipe
- Economic-historical arc of Disney
20. PIXAR
- Innovative model
- Corporate and creative evolution
- Disney-Pixar relationship
- Disney acquisitions of creative industries: Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Fox
- Evolution towards Disney+ and new distribution channels
21. CREATIVE INDUSTRY AND THE WEB
- Web evolution: .1, .2, .3
- Web subjects: structures, content, services
- OTTP media over the top and platforms
- Subject hybridization (production, distribution, technology)
- Creative products online
- Evolution of the music industry
- Evolution of the publishing industry
- User as a creative subject
- UGC user-generated content
- User sharing as a creative practice
- Role of influencers
22. STREAMING AND VIDEO
- Video streaming and Netflix
- Evolution of the television industry
- New video-on-demand distribution: VOD and its variations
- From Blockbuster to Netflix
- VOD distribution in Italy
- "Streaming wars" (Netflix, Prime, Disney)
- Creative content and cost, demand, supply phenomenon
23. TRANSMEDIALITY
- From schedule to algorithm
- Transmedia storytelling
- Franchising
- "Creative destruction" on the web and in entertainment
- Metaverse and virtual reality
24. LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
- Definitions, genres, and trends (live concerts, theme parks, resorts and dining, sports industry, cruises, casinos).
- Case study: Live Nation and live concerts.
25. PERFORMING ARTS
- Theater: myth and catharsis to nurture product vision.
- The theatrical ecosystem of industrial and creative supporting figures.
- Permanent show industry
- Case study: A transversal model of creative economy. The TAM Arcimboldi in Milan
- Case study: "high art" and commercial spectacle. The National Theatre in London
- Broadway industry and commercial theater system.
- Elitist target and audience development: production and communication in subsidized theater.
Core Documentation
Françoise Benhamou, "L' economia della cultura"; Il Mulino, 2020.
Walter Santagata "Il governo della cultura"; Il Mulino, 2014.
Course materials indicated by the instructor.
Attendance
Attendance in the course is highly recommended.Type of evaluation
For attending students, learning will be assessed through in-class presentations on topics covered during the course, followed by the drafting of a paper. Additionally, those who achieve a passing grade will undergo an additional oral examination. For non-attending students, an oral exam covering the entire syllabus is scheduled.