Marilena Vecco

The Tale of the Cuts and Raises: Public Budgets for Culture in the European Countries During the Financial Crisis

The article examines to what extent the public financing of the cultural sector was different, compared to other economic sectors of the economy in crisis. We perform an econometric analysis on the Eurostat COFOG dataset for 29 European countries in years 1990-2014. The results show that cuts in the cultural sector were present at general, central and local levels, yet happened with different characteristics than for other sectors of the economy. Also, the dynamics of public budgets for culture during the crisis significantly differed across the analysed countries and cuts were not present on a uniform level.

Blue notes: Slovenian jazz festivals and their contribution to the economic resilience of the host cities

ABSTRACT In this article we explore the effects of two Slovenian jazz festivals on the economic resilience of the host cities: Jazzinty Novo Mesto and Jazz Cerkno. We analyse to what extent the two jazz festivals contribute to the original pre-crisis status (e.g. static economic resilience) of the two host cities as reaction to the financial crisis of 2008. Using a monthly based dataset of Statistical Office of Republic of Slovenia, covering the period 2008–2015, and ex-post econometric verification methodology (time series and panel data methods), we estimate the effects of these festivals on tourism inflows and employment. The results confirm important effects of the events in both cities, but with wide variation across the years, being more present in the earlier years of the festivals, and being on a very different scale for both cities.

Creative and cultural industries and cities.

This paper focuses on three main concepts: creativity, cultural and creative industries in order to better understand their impact on contemporary cities. We decided to adopt a historic perspective showing these concepts in order to catch the evolution and the different nuances attributed to and to clear the misunderstandings of the application of the concept of creative and cultural industries. The concept of creativity has been analysed and the question of how we can measure creativity has been developed, showing an overview of different existing indexes which can potentially contribute to benchmarking the creative potential of a country.

Creative Industries and Entrepreneurship

This book investigates the evolving paradigm of creative industries and creative entrepreneurship, and their related economy over time. It explores different stages of the paradigm diffusion in ‘first generation countries’ such as the US, Canada, Australia and Europe, and ‘second generation countries’ in Asia, South America and North Africa in order to identify new trends and their distinctive aspects. By adopting a multidisciplinary approach, the book develops a comprehensive overview of the composite phenomenon of the creative economy and its relationship with entrepreneurship.

Enhancing the Potential of Cultural Entrepreneurship: Connecting Regional Development and Performance of Cultural Firms in Europe

It is commonly recognized that individuals’ motivations drive the entrepreneurial process, though the qualities and outcomes of such are regulated by the environment. This article focuses on the regional dimension of entrepreneurship in the cultural sector found within Europe. A large sample of cultural firms from 13 European countries were selected from the Amadeus database in order to study the relationship of cultural firms’ performances and regional development using linear mixed models. Relevant results of this article include the finding that regional entrepreneurial development is related to the performance of cultural firms with respect to their primary relationships, capital financing, and firm debt. Moreover, there is evidence that variability of results is associated with the country, as opposed to the regional, level. Lastly, differences depend on the cultural sector under concern and on the different dimensions of regional entrepreneurial development. We conclude with some policy recommendations and reflections.