Cultural Policy in an Era of Budgetary Stringency and Fiscal Decentralization: The U.S. Experience

Abstract

In the U.S. and a good many other advanced countries, the 1980s were marked by budgetary stringency and moves toward greater decentralization of public finances, often colored by strong ideological reactions against government intervention in social and economic affairs (although fiscal restraint and decentralization are not inherently characteristics of either right or left ideologies). In the U.S., the state governments in combination now provide considerably more direct cash support of the arts than does the Federal government and the disparity appears to be growing. In addition, the traditional major form of public financial support, Federal tax incentives for private giving, appears likely to be of declining importance.