A digital creation by ©Creative Desk, tested on curiosity and strong wifi
You can count money. But can you count meaning? Cultural economist David Throsby thinks we must. “Economic value is easy to measure. Cultural value speaks a different language – but it’s no less real.” For over four decades, Throsby has challenged policymakers, entrepreneurs, and academics to rethink value: not just what sells, but what shapes us. At Erasmus University Rotterdam, this conversation is taken seriously. Because culture doesn’t just entertain or attract tourists – it connects, transforms, and lasts. And if we fail to recognize that, we’re building half a society.
Dual Value, One Reality
Every cultural good has at least two faces. One economic – ticket prices, tourism income, job creation. The other cultural – the pleasure of a painting, the identity we draw from a monument, the emotional resonance of a poem. Throsby makes a clear distinction: economic value is what something earns. Cultural value is what something means.
Theaters, museums, music venues – they generate income, yes. But they also foster belonging, beauty, memory, and imagination. “Total value,” says Throsby, “is economic plus cultural. Ignore one, and your policy falls short.” That’s why he advocates for a total value approach: one that adds both sides together, rather than treating them as separate worlds.
Why is that so rare? Because money is a universal metric. Cultural value is not. That makes it harder to standardise – but not less real. In his work, Throsby breaks down cultural value into tangible components: aesthetic, social, historical, educational, spiritual. This helps researchers and institutions move from vague ideals to measurable insights.
When Choice Reveals Value
One of the most promising tools? Choice experiments. Traditionally used in economics to determine what people are willing to pay, these experiments now serve a double role in cultural economics. By presenting individuals with hypothetical choices—say, between different theatre programs or museum formats—researchers can isolate both monetary and cultural preferences.
Throsby is using this method to explore how audiences in Sydney, New York, and London make decisions about the performing arts. How much cultural value do people derive from a live performance? What trade-offs are they willing to make between price, access, and emotional impact? Choice experiments, he explains, let us see how people value the intangible—by observing the choices they’re willing to make.
Erasmus University applies similar techniques to cultural sectors in the Netherlands. From design thinking in museums to societal impact assessments in the arts, researchers here are redefining value in ways that speak to both the heart and the spreadsheet.
David Throsby is Professor of Economics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. As a world-leading authority in cultural economics, he is best known for pioneering work on the concept of cultural value, the economics of the arts, and the idea of cultural capital. David has advised UNESCO, the OECD, and governments worldwide, and his books are widely regarded as foundational in the field.
Culture Thinks in Generations
While the market moves in quarters, culture thinks in generations. That’s why heritage matters—not because it’s profitable now, but because it preserves memory for those who come after us. In his collaborations with indigenous communities in Australia, Throsby witnessed how oral traditions carry forward the past into the future, even in the absence of written archives. It’s a reminder for any institution: economic logic must be balanced with cultural responsibility. We’re not only caretakers of capital, but of meaning.
A Broader Horizon
“Art is fundamental to our humanity,” Throsby says. “Limiting ourselves to passive entertainment impoverishes the mind; engaging with art expands it.” Erasmus University echoes that belief, helping to put cultural value on the agenda—clearly, credibly, and creatively. Because if we want to shape a society where economy, community, and imagination thrive together, we must start counting what truly counts.
A digital creation by ©Creative Desk, tested on curiosity and strong wifi