Planning Stage

	Literature Review Return to Literature Review The Economic Value of the Arts in Missouri - Three Studies Date 1990, June Purpose of Study The study focused on the economic impact of the arts on Missouri. In particular, four arts festivals were assessed in terms of their impact at the local level and on the state as a whole. The study looked at festival audiences in terms of education, employment, age, location and whether the individual's visit to the particular community was solely because of the festival. Methodology Multiple Methods: Four Festival Study 1) Artfest on Walnut Street: Visitor survey 2) Historic Folklife Festival: Visitor survey 3) Missouri River Festival of the Arts: Audience survey 4) Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Spring Season: Audience survey The Arts and Economic Development: Views of Corporate Executives: Archival data from American Demographics, Site Selection, Fortune and Industrial Management. Survey of corporate executives in Missouri. Art Publicity as Promotion of Missouri A bibliographic database that contains magazines and newspapers outside the state of Missouri was utilized. The database was searched using geographic descriptors, "Missouri, Kansas City, St. Louis," and art descriptors, "festival, dance, ballet, museum (art), opera." Results Four Festival Study - Direct Economic Effects - Artfest on Walnut Street: $78,700 (state) $51,200 (local) - Historic Folklife Festival: $330,500 (state) $302,200 (local) - Missouri River Festival of the Arts: $192, 500 (state) $153,900 (local) - Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Spring Season: $2,178,900 (state) $1,979,600 (local) The Arts and Economic Development: Views of Corporate Executives: The survey was given to corporate planners and CEO's from the largest companies in Missouri. The report states, "the linkage between the arts and quality of life . . . was clear and unmistakable. Most of the responding CEO's and corporate planners (94%) considered the arts and cultural amenities as important to a region's quality of life." In addition, a majority of the respondents viewed enhancing a region's cultural amenities as a good business investment. Art Publicity as Promotion of Missouri: The lists were limited to the period between 1978 to 1988. There were 373 articles in 42 publications. Assessments Festivals as the focus of the study limit the ability to generalize the findings. The economic effects of each festival are listed and the ratio of the direct economic effects to public and private contribution. The section "The Arts and Economic Development: Views of Corporate Executives," addresses the importance of the quality of life and cultural amenities when choosing a business location. The last section, "Art Publicity as Promotion of Missouri," demonstrates the value of the arts as positive advertisement for the state as a whole. Executive summary does not tie in the separate sections to make a cohesive case of the economic value of the arts in Missouri. Good example of comparison between archival research and data from current survey instruments. Regional approach to economic impact with application to the state as a whole offers insight, model approach. < Return to Literature Review