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Culture-based development in the USA: culture as a factor for economic welfare and social well-being at a county level

Osoba, Brian J.; Tubadji, Annie; Nijkamp, Peter; Osoba, Brian

Authors

Brian J. Osoba

Annie Tubadji

Peter Nijkamp

Brian Osoba



Abstract

© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York. This paper explores the link between culture and regional development in USA counties by explicitly including an arts variable in an attitudes-driven culture-based development (CBD) production function. The main aims of the research are (1) to revisit the standard CBD model in order to examine whether its findings from the European Union context hold also for the United States and (2) to expand the CBD standard inquiry of local development beyond economic welfare. In relation to the latter, we address in particular (1) the effect of local cultural industries on migration (as a continuation of Florida’s hypothesis) and (2) the effect of culture on social well-being (alternatively measured by means of level of happiness and level of crime in terms of property theft). Our paper is, therefore, a novel contribution, providing a better understanding of the link between arts, culture and regional development and also facilitating an innovative evaluation of cultural impact relevant in the developmental debate in an extended socio-economic sense. The data used in this inquiry comprise a composite dataset, a cross section for the year 2000 at the county level combining census data with the cultural vitality index from the Western States Arts Federation and happiness variables from the general social survey panel for 2006. A three-stage least squares exploration of recursive types of a standard CBD and an extended CBD model leads to three main results: (1) the existence of a CBD cultural effect on local development is confirmed for the USA; (2) endogenous cultural industries have an effect on the mobility of human capital, and (3) the impact of cultural effects seems to be more significant when a negative Myrdalian vicious cycle is assumed.

Citation

Osoba, B. J., Tubadji, A., Nijkamp, P., & Osoba, B. (2015). Culture-based development in the USA: culture as a factor for economic welfare and social well-being at a county level. Journal of Cultural Economics, 39(3), 277-303. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-014-9232-3

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 1, 2015
Online Publication Date Sep 30, 2014
Publication Date Aug 27, 2015
Journal Journal of Cultural Economics
Print ISSN 0885-2545
Electronic ISSN 1573-6997
Publisher Springer (part of Springer Nature)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 39
Issue 3
Pages 277-303
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-014-9232-3
Keywords attitudes, CVI, diversity, productivity, happiness, social wellbeing
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/829649
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10824-014-9232-3
Related Public URLs https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10824-014-9232-3


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