The Supply Constraint Problem in Economic Impact Analysis: An Arts/Sports Disparity

Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate About the Benefits of the Arts

“…At issue is whether investments in the arts sector, such as a new performing arts center, should be deducted from the additional spending that such an investment generates or whether the gross addition to total arts spending is the appropriate measure of the economic benefit. Seaman (2000), for example, asserts that spending on the arts merely substitutes for what would otherwise be spending on other goods and services. As a result, he and others have argued that it is more appropriate to compare gross direct spending and ____________ employment effects than to use multipliers that assume all net spending on the arts represents a direct addition to the economy.…”

“…Indeed, there is some dispute among economists as to whether studies of direct economic benefits should focus on the gross effects of arts spending on a local economy or the net effects compared with other investments of funds. See, for example, Robert Baade's paper on the economic effect that the Staples Center (a sports and concert events venue) has had on the City of Los Angeles, California (Baade, 2004), and Bruce Seaman's paper comparing the economic impacts of arts and sports (Seaman, 2004). community. There is no reason to assume that the same benefits can be derived from attendance at professional performances.…”

A Compensating Differential Approach to Valuing the Social Benefit of Minor League Baseball

“…The idea of relative effects is not new to sports research (e.g., Coates and Depken ). Similarly, Seaman (), Matheson (), and Agha and Rascher (in press) suggest that smaller cities may be more likely to experience positive economic impacts from sport events and teams. As can be seen from Table , in the most extreme case, teams in the same classification can have a population range of more than 18 million.…”

Estimating the real growth effects of blockbuster art exhibits: A time series approach

“…But duration of the event is not the only difference between special sporting events and blockbuster exhibitions. In a recent working paper Bruce Seaman (2004) identifies supply constraints as an impact reducing factor commonly incorporated into studies of sports events but generally lacking in the studies of cultural events. 3 On the other hand, the most recent sports economics study attempting (indirectly) to examine ex post the validity of an ex ante economic impact study not only supports the allegation that the event resulted in real economic growth but also suggests that the original impact study underestimated the extent of that growth.…”