Spatial Distribution Model for Targeting the Support for Cultural Institutions’ Development: A Case Study of Slovakia

Abstract

Culture is one of the main tools for developing regions and reducing regional disparities. It is a significant job creator; it participates in social cohesion representing a catalyst for economic growth. In practice, when boosting the potential of cultural and creative industries, we encounter an insufficiently developed approach to evaluating the initial conditions for the allocation of financial resources for its development. This paper’s objective is to identify, map, and analyse spatial concentration of cultural institutions in Slovakia. The intention of the analysis was the identification of regions and districts with the potential for full use of cultural capital as a tool for sustainable regional development as well as the setting of cultural policy. The cluster analysis pointed out significant differences in the representation of cultural institutions in individual regions and districts of Slovakia. The regions with the most desirable results (e.g., Bratislava, Trnava, or Nitra) have some common characteristics linked to the local context, such as historical development, good infrastructure, concentration of educational institutions. The results also confirmed the assumption that within the regions, cultural institutions will be concentrated in larger district cities, specifically in the case of Bratislava even inside the city. From the cluster analysis it is possible to observe a “belt of districts” of Southern, Central, and Eastern Slovakia, which do not have sufficient cultural infrastructure. Since the process of shaping the supportive policy for cultural industries is now ongoing in Slovakia, we consider mapping the situation as one of the key elements in the policy-making process.

Econometric Modeling of Creative Industries Concentration Process in the Siberian and the Urals Single-Industry Towns

“…In particular, the mechanisms of concentration and diversification of creative industries and their determining factors require investigation. On the one hand, there is a scientific opinion that culture is one of the main tools for regional development and reducing regional disparity, creating jobs with social unity effects, as well as a catalyst for economic growth [29]. On the other hand, Boal-San Miguel and Herrero-Prieto [18] conclude that creative industries are concentrated in megacities, while the spillover effects are felt by adjacent regions, due to the untimeliness of the spatial dependency process.…”