Arthur B. Rubinstein (1938) Mar 31
https://youtu.be/nkXOrkeZyqQ
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732) Mar 31
http://wyntonmarsalis.org/discography/title/trumpet-concertos
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873) Apr 1
Sergei Prokofiev (1891) Apr 23, 2015
https://youtu.be/xjutQ97DRhw
Elmer Bernstein (1922) Apr 4
https://youtu.be/kP9i2t_0Ul4
Herbie Hancock (1940) Apr 12, 2015
https://youtu.be/8B1oIXGX0Io
Volume 18, Issue 6, December 2011, Pages 755–766
European Association of Labour Economists, 3rd World Conference EALE/SOLE, London UK, 17-19 June2010
The phantom of the opera: Cultural amenities, human capital, and regional economic growth ☆
Abstract
We
analyze the extent to which endogenous cultural amenities affect the
spatial equilibrium share of high-human-capital employees. To overcome
endogeneity, we draw on a quasi-natural experiment in German history and
exploit the exogenous spatial distribution of baroque opera houses
built as a part of rulers' competition for prestigious cultural sights.
Robustness tests confirm our strategy and strengthen the finding that
proximity to a baroque opera house significantly affects the spatial
equilibrium share of high-human-capital employees. A cross-region growth
regression shows that these employees induce local knowledge spillovers
and shift a location to a higher growth path.
Highlights
►
The study examines 29 opera houses built before 1800. ► Baroque opera
houses are not the result but a cause of regional economic growth. ►
Well-educated workers prefer to live geographically close to cultural
amenities. ► Proximity to cultural amenities can significantly increase
regional growth. ► Political leaders should account for the indirect
growth effect of cultural amenities.
JEL classifications
Keywords
- Cultural amenities;
- Regional economic growth;
- Human capital;
- Bohemians
- ☆
- We are grateful to Sascha Becker, Marcus Berliant, Thiess Buettner, Gregory Clark, Christian Dippel, Gilles Duranton, William Kerr, Martin Kocher, Jordi Jofre Monseny, F. Mike Scherer, Guido Schwerdt, Hans-Werner Sinn, Albert Solé-Ollé, Olav Sorenson, William Strange, Jens Suedekum, Matthew Turner, Silke Uebelmesser, Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal, Stephan Weiler, Ludger Woessmann, and the seminar participants in Barcelona, UC Davis, Duisburg, Munich, and Utrecht, as well the participants of the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Urban Economics Association in San Francisco, the 2010 EALE/SOLE World Congress in London, the 2010 World Congress of the Econometric Society in Shanghai, and the 2010 Congress of the European Economic Association in Glasgow for helpful comments. Parts of this paper were written while Falck was visiting Harvard University and Heblich was visiting the University of Toronto. They acknowledge the hospitality of these institutions. Susann Giese, Alexander Paeschke, and Pia Unte provided capable research assistance.
- Corresponding
author at: Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of
Munich, Poschingerstrasse 5, 81679 Munich, Germany. Tel.:
+ 49 89 92241370; fax: + 49 92241460.
- 1
- Tel.: + 49 3641 943220; fax: + 49 3641 943232.
- 2
- Tel.: + 44 1786467481; fax: + 44 1786467469.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
