From Cost Disease to Cultural Externalities: The Evolution of Theoretical Approaches in Cultural Economics

Abstract

The literature on cultural economics generally presents the major theoretical contributions in a chronological manner, without explicitly highlighting the intellectual shifts that have progressively shaped the field. This article addresses this gap by offering an analytical reinterpretation of the principal theoretical approaches that have contributed to the development of cultural economics. It is based on a narrative analytical review of the works of William J. Baumol, Gary Becker, Alan Peacock, Mark Blaug, David Throsby, Ruth Towse and Trine Bille, selected for their decisive role in renewing the discipline's research agenda. The analysis shows that cultural economics has evolved not through the accumulation of competing theories, but through successive shifts in its research questions, from the economic constraints of cultural production to cultural consumption, cultural policy, cultural value, creative industries and the externalities of cultural capital. The article demonstrates that these contributions should be understood as complementary analytical perspectives rather than competing theoretical frameworks. It therefore provides a conceptual reading of the evolution of cultural economics and identifies future research directions related to digital transformation, generative artificial intelligence and the empirical assessment of cultural externalities.

Classification JEL : Z11, H41, D62            

Paper type : Theoretical Research