Abstract
Despite an extensive empirical literature on the determinants of cultural consumption, few studies focus on the demand for popular forms of culture (i.e. reality television, popular music, yellow journalism, among the others). The purpose of this paper is to fill this lacuna by analysing the market for circus, a worldwide popular performing art. To this aim, a demand–supply model is investigated using data on 107 Italian provinces over the period 2006–2007, by applying the SUR and the 3SLS methodologies. Findings confirm the economic theory, since price is negatively correlated with the quantity demanded and positively with the quantity supplied. According to our results circus is an inferior good. This result show that high and popular culture are far from competing each other. Cinema, theatre and concerts turn out to be feeble substitute goods for circus. Circuses in the South and Islands of Italy are characterised by longer stays in a single location probably due to higher appreciation for circus performances and favourable climate conditions. Since the determinants of popular culture demand are find to be different from those of high culture, our findings can be useful for policy makers to implement policies finalised to social inclusion and social cohesion.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The log–log specification allows us to interpret coefficients as elasticities.
Seats are defined as the number of seats multiplied by the number of performances that take place in a single location (Zanola 2010a).
References
Arthur L (2001) Popular culture and early literacy learning. Contemp Iss Early Child 2:295–308. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2001.2.3.3
Ateca-Amestoy V (2008) Determining heterogeneous behavior for theatre attendance. J Cult Econ 32:127–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-008-9065-z
Baum CF (2006) An introduction to modern econometrics using stata. Stata Press, College Station
Bihagen E, Katz-Gerro T (2000) Culture consumption in Sweden: the stability of gender differences. Poetics 27(5):327–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-422X(00)00004-8
Borowiecki KJ (2015) Historical origins of cultural supply in Italy. Oxford Econ Pap 67:781–805. https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpv029
Borowiecki KJ, Prieto-Rodriguez J (2015) Video games playing: a substitute for cultural consumptions? J Cult Econ 39:239–258. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-014-9229-y
Boundless (2019) High and low culture. http://oer2go.org/mods/en-boundless/www.boundless.com/sociology/concepts/high-and-low-culture-0-5619/index.html. Accessed 10th March 2019
Burgess H (1974) The classification of circus techniques. Drama Rev 18: 65–70. https://www.jstor.org/stable/i247915
Cameron S (1986) The supply and demand for cinema tickets: some UK. Evid J Cult Econ 10:38–62
Castiglione C (2017) Revealed individual attendance at Italian theatre: a microeconomic investigation. Econ Polit Forthcom. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40888-017-0090-2
Castiglione C, Infante D (2016a) Rational addiction and cultural goods. The case of the Italian theatregoers. J Cult Econ 40:163–190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-015-9247-4
Castiglione C, Infante D (2016b) The evolution of theatre attendance in Italy: patrons and companies. In: Prieto-Rodriguez J, Ateca-Amestoy VM, Ginsburgh V, Mazza I, O’Hagan J (eds) Enhancing Cultural participation in the EU—challenges and methods. Springer, Berlin, pp 155–169
Chiou L, Lopez M (2010) The reality of reality television: Does reality TV Influence local crime rates? Econ Lett 108:330–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2010.06.009
Clark LS (2008) When the university went ‘Pop’: exploring cultural studies, sociology of culture, and the rising interest in the study of popular culture. Soc Compass 2:16–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00058.x
Connolly M, Krueger AB (2006) Rockonomics: the economics of popular music. In: Ginsburgh VA, Throsby D (eds) Handbook of the economics of art and culture. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 667–719
Crane DS (1992) High culture versus popular culture revisited: a reconceptualization of recorded cultures. In: Lamont M, Fournnier M (eds) Symbolic boundaries and the making of inequality. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 58–74
Dewenter R, Westermann M (2005) Cinema demand in Germany. J Cult Econ 29:213–231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-005-6421-0
Dornau B (2004) The economics of reality TV communications and the mass media. mimeo, New York
Falk M, Katz-Gerro T (2015) Cultural participation in Europe: Can we identify common determinants? J Cult Econ 40:127–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-015-9242-9
Gans H (2008) Popular culture and high culture: an analysis and evaluation of taste (revised and updated): basic books, New York
Grindstaff L (2008) Culture and popular culture: a case for sociology. Ann Am Acad Political Soc Sci 619:206–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716208318520
Hall F (2002) Strategy and report on circus. The arts council of England, London
Hallman K, Muñiz Artime C, Breuer C, Dallmeyer S, Metz M (2017) Leisure participation: modelling the decision to engage in sports and culture. J Cult Econ 4:467–487. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-016-9275-8
Hyun C, Byun C (2016) The economics of popular music industry. McMillan, Pagrave
Inthorn S, Street J, Scott M (2012) Popular culture as a resource for political engagement. Cult Soc 7:336–351. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749975512457141
Istituto Nazionale di Statistica-ISTAT (2007) Indagine sulle forze lavoro. Medie Istat, Rome
Istituto Nazionale di Statistica-ISTAT (2008) Indagine sulle forze lavoro. Medie Istat, Rome
Istituto Nazionale di Statistica-ISTAT (2011) Il reddito disponibile delle famiglie nelle regioni italiane. Anni 2006-2009. Istat, Rome
Johnston J, DiNardo J (1997) Econometric methods, 4th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York
Katsuura M (2008). Examining arts participation in Japan using the survey on time use and leisure activities. Asia Pacific J Arts Cultural Manag, 5: 343–361. http://apjacm.arts.unimelb.edu.au/article/view/34
Lévy-Garboua L, Montmarquette C (1996) A microeconometric study of theatre demand. J Cult Econ 20:25–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-005-5050-y
Luksetich WA, Lange MD (1995) A simultaneous model of nonprofit symphony orchestra behaviour. J Cult Econ 19:49–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01074432
McCarthy K, Ondaatje E, Zakaras L (2001) Guide to the literature on participation in the arts. RAND, Santa Monica
Meloni G, Paolin D, Pulina M (2015) The great beauty: public subsidies in the Italian movie industry. Ital Econ J 1:445–455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40797-015-0021-8
O’Hagan JW (1998) The state and the arts: an analysis of key economic policy issues in Europe and the United States. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham
Parker HN (2011) Toward a definition of popular culture. Hist Theory 50:147–170. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2303.2011.00574.x
Prieto-Rodríguez J, Fernández-Blanco V (2000) Are popular and classical music listeners the same people? J Cult Econ 24:147–164. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007620605785
Rowe D (1995) Popular cultures: rock music. Sport and the Politics of Pleasure Sage, London
Scarborough RC, McCoy CA (2014) Moral reactions to reality TV: television viewers endogenous loci of morality. J Consum Cult 16:164–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540514521078
Scherger S (2009) Cultural practices, age and the life course. Cultural Trends 18:23–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/09548960802651203
Seaman B (2006) Empirical studies of demand for the performing arts. In: Ginsburgh V, Throsby D (eds) Handbook of the economics of art and culture. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 416–472
Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori-SIAE (2007) Annuario dello spettacolo 2006. SIAE, Rome
Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori-SIAE (2008) Annuario dello spettacolo 2007. SIAE, Rome
Throsby D (1994) The production and consumption of the arts: a view of cultural economics. J Econ Lit 32:1–29
Toulmin V (2019) Celebrating 250 years of circus. Early Pop Vis Culture Editor. https://doi.org/10.1080/17460654.2019.1569842
Trandel GA (1991) The bias due to omitting quality when estimating automobile demand. Rev Econ Stat 73:522–525
Zanola R (2010a) Major influence on circus attendances. Empir Econ 38:159–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-009-0260-3
Zanola R (2010b) Who likes circus animals? Econ Bulle 30:3315–3320
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
The authors wish to thanks the Editors and the anonymous referees of this journal for their useful suggestions. The authors are also indebted to Tiziana Cuccia, Davide Infante, and Antonello E. Scorcu for helpful comments to a first draft of the paper. The usual disclaimers apply.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Castiglione, C., Zanola, R. The Demand and Supply for Popular Culture: Evidence from Italian Circuses. Ital Econ J 5, 349–367 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40797-019-00096-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40797-019-00096-x