The changing role of education as we move from popular to highbrow culture

Abstract

Education is the socioeconomic variable that has the greatest impact on cultural participation. A higher level of education leads to greater interest and taste for culture increasing the demand of culture. But education can also indirectly affect cultural consumption because the higher the level of education, the higher the expected income and, therefore, the greater the cultural consumption. In this paper, we analyze the effect of education on cultural consumption once the impact of income is controlled for. Using information on attendance to cinema, performing arts and visits to sites of cultural interest, we analyze how the effect of education changes between these activities. To do so, we estimate a Zero Inflated Ordered Probit (ZIOP) using the 2006 and 2015 Spanish modules of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). We find that the effect of education varies between activities, being its marginal effect more relevant for highbrow activities than for popular culture. On the contrary, given a certain level of education, an increase in income will bring more people to the cinema than to theaters or museums. This result is consistent with the idea that highbrow cultural consumption involves the comprehension of more complex symbolic elements, and individuals' decoding abilities depend more on education than on income.

Education, income and cultural participation across Europe

“…In sum, education is significantly more important than individuals' income in explaining cultural participation. Also, and in line with previous evidence (Falk and Katz-Gerro, 2016;Suarez-Fernandez et al, 2019), we find that the marginal effect of tertiary education on cultural participation is higher than the effect of secondary education, especially for visits to cultural sites. These results are consistent with the idea that cultural consumption involves the understanding of symbolic elements, especially in the case of highbrow culture, and more educated individuals are more likely to possess the necessary skills to appreciate highbrow cultural activities.…”

“…In general, more educated individuals tend to have the necessary skills to appreciate and enjoy highbrow cultural activities, which typically involve interpreting more complex symbolic contents than lowbrow activities. In this sense, in an analysis of cultural participation in Spain, Suarez-Fernandez et al (2019) find that the effect of education on cultural consumption is larger for highbrow than for more popular lowbrow activities. Also, they find a positive effect of income on participation that is larger for more popular activities.…”

“…Moreover, the effect of education on cultural consumption is likely different according to the type of cultural good (Falk and Katz-Gerro, 2015;Suarez-Fernandez et al, 2019). In general, more educated individuals tend to have the necessary skills to appreciate and enjoy highbrow cultural activities, which typically involve interpreting more complex symbolic contents than lowbrow activities.…”

Who engages in the arts in the United States? A comparison of several types of engagement using data from The General Social Survey

“…From these studies, the most consistent predictors of increased arts engagement are higher levels of education and income [ 12 , 13 , 18 – 24 ]. There have been extensive efforts to differentiate the effects of education and income on arts engagement, and it appears that both independently contribute to engagement levels [ 21 , 25 ]. However, education may be more strongly associated with attending highbrow cultural events, whereas income is more strongly associated with other forms of arts engagement [ 25 ].…”

Arte Y Bienestar Emocional en Tiempos De Confinamiento Obligatorio

“…Como apuntan Pérez-Villadoniga y Suárez Fernández (2019, p.102), la educación temprana para desarrollar los intereses y gustos artísticos es el factor principal para impulsar la participación en actividades culturales, en lugar de la reducción de impuestos. Esto es así porque, normalmente, estas actividades implican la interpretación de contenidos simbólicos para los cuales uno debe estar entrenado (Suárez-Fernández, Prieto-Rodríguez, y Pérez-Villadoniga, 2020). Por ello, la reducción de impuestos sobre el valor añadido en estos productos y servicios es altamente regresiva; mientras que la búsqueda de diversas formas de acceso a una educación artística temprana para todos los menores, sobre todo para aquellos de familias de rentas bajas, es la forma de hacer la cultura efectivamente accesible para todos.…”