aceUVi

David Throsby
The field that has dedicated itself most overtly to
the exploration of value in the context of arts and
culture is that of Cultural Economics. While the
roots of the discipline are, as David Throsby notes,
‘firmly planted in economics’, many of its contributors
position themselves outside of mainstream
neoclassical economics (2001, 12).
David Throsby, 2001, Economics and Culture,
Cambridge University Press.
David Throsby, 2010, The Economics of
Cultural Policy, Cambridge University Press.
Throsby, for instance, maintains that ‘neoclassical
economics is ... ultimately limited in its explanatory
power’ (2001, 2). He states,
To a neoclassical economist, a full assessment of the market and/or non-market
value of any good or service, including cultural goods, would be provided by
measuring actual payment and/or potential willingness to pay. (2010, 20)
However, he points out that the modern theory of marginal utility determining
value has been criticised for not taking into account that value is socially
constructed (2001, 22) and lists several reasons why cultural value may be inadequately
captured by measures of willingness to pay (2001, 32). Contrary to
neoclassical orthodoxy, Throsby therefore maintains ‘the necessity of regarding
economic and cultural value as distinct entities... each one telling us something
different of importance to an understanding of the commodity’s worth’ (2001, 33).
In many cases cultural value is likely to be correlated with economic values, but
not necessarily perfectly. In some cases the correlation may in fact be negative, as
is the case when cultural works that are popular successes are deemed to be of low
cultural value (2001, 34).
Throsby disaggregates cultural value into several components in order to explain
the concept ‘in such a way that its importance alongside economic value can be
more vigorously asserted’ (2001, 31). His list of ‘some of [the] more important
constituent elements’ of cultural value includes:
• Aesthetic value
• Spiritual value
• Social value
• Historical value
• Symbolic value
• Authenticity value
In his influential 2001 book, Throsby does not claim that this list of components
of cultural value is complete. There is no compelling theoretical or empirical
reason why cultural value should consist of exactly six components, or why these
Framing the Conversation 36
UNDERSTANDING the value and impacts of cultural experiences