Dr. Anne Otto: Estimating the Social Return to Cultural Amenities

When people in societies with smart people also become smarter and more productive, what can regions do in order to attract smart people? And what roled to cultural institutions play in this, such as, for example, opera houses?

Dr. Anne Otto (Institute for Employment Research, Saarbrücken) and her colleagues pursued these questions in a study for the IFO Institute that caused quite a stir. The results of their research demonstrate that the presence of cultural institutions is an important factor in the decision of highly qualified workers to settle down in a location and that, as a result, the wage level of highly qualified, qualified as well as unqualified workers is significantly higher than in locations with comparable cultural institutions.

Participants:

Anne Otto (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung)