Cultural Districts, Property Rights and Sustainable Economic Growth

Walter Santagata

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2002, vol. 26, issue 1, 9-23

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to analyse the economic properties as well as the institutions governing the start‐up and evolution of cultural districts. The first part of the article reviews the relationships between culture, viewed as an idiosyncratic good, and the theory of industrial districts. The second part comprises a critical discussion of four models of cultural districts: the industrial cultural district (mainly based on positive externalities, localized culture and traditions in ‘arts and crafts’); the institutional cultural district (chiefly relying on the assignment of property rights); the museums cultural district (based on network externalities and the search for optimal size); and the metropolitan cultural district (based on communication technologies, performing arts and electronic trade). The assignment of intellectual property rights to local idiosyncratic cultural goods seems to be the most significant way to differentiate among cultural districts. The final section discusses a possible convergence of all district models towards the institutional district, based on the creation of a system of property rights as a means to protect localized production. Cet article tente d’analyser les propriétés économiques et les institutions qui régissent la création et l’évolution de districts culturels. La première partie étudie les relations entre la culture – vue comme un bien idiosyncrasique – et la théorie des districts industriels. La deuxième partie est un débat critique sur quatre modèles de districts culturels: le district culturel industriel (basé essentiellement sur des externalités positives, des cultures et traditions artisanales locales), le district culturel institutionnel (s’appuyant principalement sur l’attribution de droits de propriété), le district culturel des musées (fondé sur des effets d’entraînement en réseau et la recherche d’une taille optimale), et le district culturel métropolitain (basé sur les technologies de communication, des représentations artistiques et le commerce électronique). L’attribution de droits de propriété intellectuelle sur des biens culturels idiosyncrasiques locaux semble être la meilleure manière de différencier les districts culturels. La dernière partie de l’article examine une convergence possible de tous les modèles de district vers le district institutionnel, en s’appuyant sur la création d’un système de droits de propriété comme moyen de protection d’une production locale.

Date: 2002
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