About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 [1] (June 29, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemdi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service informing the legislative debate since 1914 June 29, 2023 Arts and Culture in Economic Development Policy Arts and culture account for a significant portion of U.S. economic activity. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which assesses the economic impact of arts and culture through its Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), arts and cultural economic activity accounted for 4.4% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021, the most recent year for which data are available, equating to about $1.02 trillion. The federal government offers a variety of funding and programs to support arts and culture activities, including some aimed primarily at bolstering economic development. In addition, Congress acted in recent years to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and culture industry, most notably through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program authorized in P.L. 116- 260, the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (Division N, Title III of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021). The 117th Congress also considered additional legislation aimed at various aspects of arts and culture-based economic development, including the CREATIVE Act of 2022 (H.R. 9175) and the PLACE Act (H.R. 6569 and S. 3560). Defining Arts and Culture There is no standard definition of arts and culture in relation to economic development. A range of activities could be considered to fall under the umbrella of arts and culture-based economic development, including tourism development, historic preservation, and efforts to attract individuals working in creative occupations (such as artists and writers) to a certain region. The ACPSA notes that arts and cultural production is defined narrowly to include creative artistic activity-the goods and services produced by it, the goods and services produced in support of it, and the construction of buildings in which it takes place. However, the ACPSA also includes the economic impact of certain industries supporting arts and culture, such as broadcasting and manufacturing. For all industries it measures, the ACPSA includes only the share of production related to the arts. Other definitions of arts and culture are more expansive. For example, Richard Florida, a researcher who has examined the connections between arts and culture and economic development, coined and popularized the term creative class. Florida identified a range of occupations that could fit under that term. In a 2014 paper, he wrote that such occupations included jobs in knowledge-intensive industries that involve the production of new ideas and products, or that engage in creative problem solving. In addition to occupations such as musicians and actors, Florida's creative class potentially includes designers, the media, computer scientists, and engineers. Economic Impacts As noted, artistic and cultural activities contribute notable amounts to the U.S. economy. Research also indicates that the arts and culture industry recovered relatively quickly from recent economic dips. For example, according to the ACPSA, the arts and culture industry's economic activity increased 13.7% in 2021 from the prior year. That compared to a 5.9% increase in overall U.S. GDP in 2021. Figure 1 shows the annual change in arts and culture economic activity and U.S. GDP from 2017 to 2021. Figure 1. Annual Change in Arts and Culture Economic Activity and U.S. GDP, 201 7-2021 Source: BEA, Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account, U.S. and States, at https://www.bea.gov/news/2023/arts-and-cultural- production-satellite-account-us-and-states-2021, and Gross Domestic Product, at https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gross-domestic-product. These trends align with research examining the effects of the Great Recession (December 2008 to June 2009). A 2021 paper from researchers at Indiana University found that, in the year following the end of the Great Recession, the average gross state product per capita rose by 3%, while the average state arts economy grew by 3.4%. This may be attributed to the fact that, as the same study noted, the arts and culture industry tends to grow independently of other economic sectors, making it less dependent both on other industries and complex supply chains. Further, research by the economist Ann Markusen found that, while participants in the arts and culture industry do not rely heavily on other industries to do their work, they do support downstream economic activity in fields like publishing and printing, thereby benefitting those industries and helping to increase regional economic diversification.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most