Cities, states, and regional groups have often sponsored economic impact studies to help with lobbying campaigns for public funding of "the arts." These studies define the arts sector broadly, and are flawed from an economic point of view because the usually ignore t he private and for-profit economy, which arguably creates the vitality of the art sector (fine art, theater, music).

List of Research Studies on Economic Impact of the Arts (not maintained)

Examples of studies and data on economic impact:

• Arts and Economic Prosperity in Washington, DC Region (non-profit arts sector)
• Arts and Economic Prosperity: National Report (Americans for the Arts)
• Economic Impact Study Methodology and Templates (Americans for the Arts)
• Economic Impact Study of the Museum of Modern Art (New York)
• Study on economic impact for Texas
• Economic Impact of the Arts in Florida
• Economic impact of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art

Economic Impact of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (pdf file)

Summary: Altogether, this study showed that the museum is responsible for $369 million of additional spending by visitors to the region. The study also compared the scale of the museum activities and visitor attraction with that of local professional sports teams and other major institutions and employers. Most importantly, the study showed how capital investment in expansion of the museum would lead to future payoffs in terms of jobs and income for residents of the region.

Economic Impact of the Arts on New York

Summary: Major findings for New York City in fiscal year 1995:

• The total economic impact of the arts on New York City was $11.1 billion.
• Employment generated by the arts, both directly and indirectly, in New York City totaled 130,466.
• Taxes returned to the City as a result of this activity equaled $221 million.

The total economic impact for New York City consists of these components:

• Nonprofit organizations generated a total impact of $3.2 billion;
• Commercial theater generated a total impact of $1 billion;
• Commercial art galleries and auction houses generated a total impact of $823 million;
• Motion picture and television production generated a total impact of $3.4 billion;
• Visitor spending generated a total impact of $2.5 billion;
• Capital spending by nonprofit institutions, commercial art galleries and auction houses and commercial theater generated a total impact of $170 million.

Economic Impact of the Arts Sector in California (California Arts Council, 2004) | Press Release

Summary: The study shows that the nonprofit arts in California are a vibrant economic engine that:

• adds some $5.4 billion to the state's economy
• supports more than 160,000 jobs
• generates nearly $300 million in state and local taxes
• ranks California as the nation's leader with more arts-related businesses and more people employed in the creative industries than in any other state
• are the equivalent of 10,000 small businesses

Economic Impact of the Arts in the US: Report by Americans for the Arts on the non-profit arts sector

Summary: Arts & Economic Prosperity: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts Organizations and Their Audiences, released in 2002, reveals that America's nonprofit arts industry generates $134 billion in economic activity every year, including $24.4 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues. The $134 billion total includes $53.2 billion in spending by arts organizations and $80.8 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences.

International Economic Data (Krusin & Company)

The European Art Market in 2002

• Macroeconomic Facts for the Fine Art Market:
• The global art economy generated $23.5 billion (£ 16.6 billion and €26.7 billion) of total sales in 2001.
• Europe and the United States accounted for about 92% of the value that changed ownership globally during the year.
• In Europe, the art trade directly generated 73,500 jobs spread across 28,600 businesses. In the United States, 35,300 jobs were directly generated by 8,800 businesses.
• Ancillary economic activity generated by the art economy in Europe and the United States resulted in nearly $3 billion (£ 2.1 billion and € 3.4 billion) of further stimulus, including the indirect creation of 80,000 more professional and service sector jobs.

Tyler Cowen and Alexander Tabarrok, "An Economic Theory of Avant-Garde and Popular Art, or High and Low Culture," George Mason University, 2000.