Culture: an Economic Strike Force ?

The days are long gone when culture appeared to stand apart from the economy. More and more studies are being conducted to measure the cultural sector’s place in the economy, or emphasising its externalities. Many economists are placing the focus on the specifics of the cultural economy: should live performance productions be granted assistance, due to a structural lack of productivity, as William Baumol suggested from as early as the mid-1960s, in the United States? What are the dynamics of art markets, torn between the perception of safe-haven investments and speculative temptations? How much social protection can artists legitimately be offered? How did the cultural industries, faced early on with the challenge of digital, set up innovative business models in response? Does copyright need to take a new turn and, if so, in what direction? Are yesterday’s forms of protection – quotas for European works shown on television, a single price for books – suited to a digital world? How are cultural practices developing and what conditions are needed to keep from ending up in a “free-for-all” model?