The Economics of Museums

Bruno Frey and Stephan Meier

Chapter 29 in Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, 2006, vol. 1, pp 1017-1047 from Elsevier

Abstract: Museums fulfill many important functions in the art world and visits to museums are becoming an important leisure and holiday activity. This chapter surveys research about the functioning of museums from an economic point of view. Museum services are shaped by demand and supply factors and by the institutional setting constraining the decision makers in a museum. This chapter argues that the institutional factors, e.g., whether a museum is private or public, influence greatly how the museum is run with respect to the management of the collection, price setting, or the focus on commercial activities. Two current trends, the evolution of superstar museums and the growing importance of special exhibitions, are analysed from an economic point of view.

JEL-codes: Z19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
ISBN: 0-444-50870-8
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

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Working Paper: The Economics of Museums
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:artchp:1-29

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