Yann NICOLAS
april 2007
8 p.

The local economic impact of a cultural event or facility derives from the money spent by its audience. It can be reliably measured – once it is understood what exactly is being measured – only by observing several methodological ground rules: use of an ad hoc local economic model; exclusion of certain kinds of expenditure; calculation of costs. After estimation, the findings require that caution be exercised when using them for justifying local government subsidies for a cultural activity. This note sets out the reasons underlying this attitude.