Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-b6zl4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-11T13:03:57.020Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Consumption Base Theory of Development: An Application to the Rural Cultural Economy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Ann Markusen
Ann Markusen*
Affiliation:
Project on Regional and Industrial Economics at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Export base theory, which posits that overall regional growth is a function of external sales of locally produced goods and services, dominates economic development practice. But the consumption base can also serve as a growth driver, especially in small towns and rural areas. Local investments may induce residents to divert expenditures into local purchases, attract new and footloose residents and tourists, and revitalize aging town centers. A consumption base approach is not reducible to import substitution, but seeks to serve latent demand and alter the broad portfolio of goods and services purchased locally. I present the analytics for a consumption base theory and demonstrate how cultural investments prompt regional growth, emphasizing the role of artists as catalysts. Three types of arts and cultural investments are explored: artists’ centers, artists’ live/work spaces, and performing arts facilities, with examples from rural and small town settings. I conclude with rural cultural strategy recommendations.

Keywords

economic baseconsumptioncultural investments
Type
Invited Papers
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , April 2007 , pp. 9 - 23
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ball, R. 1962. “Capital Imports and Economic Development: Paradoxy or Orthodoxy?” Kyklos XV(3): 610–623.Google Scholar
Borrup, T. 2006. The Creative Community Builder's Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using Local Assets, Art, and Culture. St. Paul, MN: Fieldstone Alliance.Google Scholar
Conklin, M. 2004. “Home Is Where the Art Is: Paducah, KY, Transforms a Run-Down Neighborhood by Luring Artists with Gallery, Studio and Living Space.” Chicago Tribune, April 27, page 1.Google Scholar
Cortright, J. 2002. “The Economic Importance of Being Different: Regional Variations in Tastes, Increasing Returns, and the Dynamics of Development.” Economic Development Quarterly 16(1): 3–16.Google Scholar
Cuesta, C., Gillespie, D., and Lillis, P. 2005. Bright Stars: Charting the Impact of the Arts in Rural Minnesota. Minneapolis, MN: The McKnight Foundation.Google Scholar
English, D., Marcouiller, D., and Cordell, H. K. 2000. “Tourism Dependence in Rural America: Estimates and Effects.” Society and Natural Resources 13(3): 185–202.Google Scholar
Erickcek, G., and McKinney, H. 2004. “Small Cities Blues: Looking for Growth Factors in Small and Medium-Sized Cities.” Working Paper No. 04-100, W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Kalamazoo, MI.Google Scholar
Evans, G., and Foord, J. 2006. “Small Cities for a Small Country: Sustaining the Cultural Renaissance?” In Bell, D. and Jayne, M., eds., Small Cities: Urban Experience beyond the Metropolis. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Fainstein, S., and Gladstone, D. 1999. “Evaluating Urban Tourism.” In Judd, D. R. and Fainstein, S. S., eds., The Tourist City. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Feser, E. 2003. “What Regions Do Rather Than Make: A Proposed Set of Knowledge-Based Occupation Clusters.” Urban Studies 40(10): 1937–1958.Google Scholar
Ghartey, E. 1993. “Causal Relationship between Exports and Economic Growth: Some Empirical Evidence in Taiwan, Japan and the US.” Applied Economics 25(9): 1145–1152.Google Scholar
Innis, H. 1930. The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Isserman, A., and Beaumont, P. 1989. “New Directions in Quasi-Experimental Control Group Methods for Project Evaluation.” Socio-Economic Planning Sciences 23(1/2): 39–53.Google Scholar
Jacobs, J. 1984. Cities and the Wealth of Nations: Principles of Economic Life. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Jung, W., and Marshall, P. 1985. “Exports, Growth and Causality in Developing Countries.” Journal of Development Economics 18(1): 1–12.Google Scholar
Kendall, J., and Pigozzi, B. 1994. “Nonemployment Income and the Economic Base of Michigan Counties: 1959-1986.” Growth and Change 25(4): 51–74.Google Scholar
Leonard, R. H., and Kilkelly, A. 2006. Performing Communities: Grassroots Ensemble Theaters Deeply Rooted in Eight U.S. Communities. Oakland, CA: New Village Press.Google Scholar
Lindahl, D. 1994. “Import Substitution of Producer Services in Peripheral Regions: The Case of Anchorage, Alaska.” M. S. thesis, University of Washington.Google Scholar
Lindstrom, D. 1978. Economic Development in the Philadelphia Region, 1810-1850. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Markusen, A. 2004. “Targeting Occupations in Regional and Community Economic Development.” Journal of the American Planning Association 70(3): 253–268.Google Scholar
Markusen, A. 2007a. “Human versus Physical Capital: Government's Role in Regional Development.” In Martinez, J. and Vaillancourt, F., eds., The Role of Government in Regional Economic Development (forthcoming).Google Scholar
Markusen, A. (ed.). 2007b. Reining in the Competition for Capital. Kalamazoo, MI: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research (forthcoming).Google Scholar
Markusen, A., Ebert, J., and Cameron, M. 2004a. “Raising Minnesota's Minimum Wage.” CURA Reporter (Summer): 17–23.Google Scholar
Markusen, A., Ebert, J., and Cameron, M. 2004b. “The Case for a Substantial Minimum Wage Hike for Minnesota.” Working Paper No. 315, Project on Regional and Industrial Economics, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.Google Scholar
Markusen, A., and Johnson, A. 2006. Artists’ Centers: Evolution and Impact on Careers, Neighborhoods, and Economies. Project on Regional and Industrial Economics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.Google Scholar
Markusen, A., and Schrock, G. 2006a. “The Artistic Dividend: Urban Artistic Specialization and Economic Development Implications.” Urban Studies 43(10): 1661–1686.Google Scholar
Markusen, A., and Schrock, G. 2006b. “The Distinctive City: Divergent Patterns in American Urban Growth, Hierarchy and Specialization.” Urban Studies 43(8): 1301–1323.Google Scholar
Mather, V. 1999. “Human Capital-Based Strategy for Regional Economic Development.” Economic Development Quarterly 13(3): 203–216.Google Scholar
Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. 2006. Thriving Arts: Thriving Small Communities. St. Paul, MN: Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.Google Scholar
Nelson, P. B. 1997. “Migration, Sources of Income, and Community Change in the Nonmetropolitan Northwest.” Professional Geographer 49(4): 418–430.Google Scholar
Nelson, P. B., and Beyers, W. B. 1998. “Using Economic Base Models to Explain New Trends in Rural Income.” Growth and Change 29(3): 295–318.Google Scholar
Nesse, K. 2006. “Retirement Income: A New Model of Economic Base.” Master's thesis, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.Google Scholar
Noll, R., and Zimbalist, A. 1997. “The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Facilities.” In Noll, R. and Zimbalist, A., eds., Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums. Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
North, D. 1955. “Location Theory and Regional Economic Growth.” Journal of Political Economy 63(3): 243–258.Google Scholar
Rasker, R. 1995. A New Home on the Range: Economic Realities in the Columbia River Basin. Washington, D. C.: Wilderness Society.Google Scholar
Rosenfeld, S. 2004. “Crafting a New Rural Development Strategy.” Development America (Summer): 11–13.Google Scholar
Sharma, S., Norris, M., and Wai-Wah-Cheung, D. 1991. “Exports and Economic Growth in Industrialized Countries.” Applied Economics 23(4A): 697–708.Google Scholar
Shifferd, P. 2005. The Arts in Small Communities: Report of a Study of Ten Minnesota Towns. St. Paul, MN: Metropolitan Regional Arts Council.Google Scholar
Thompson, W., and Thompson, P. 1985. “From Industries to Occupations: Rethinking Local Economic Development.” Economic Development Commentary 9(3): 12–18.Google Scholar
Tiebout, C. 1956. “Exports and Regional Economic Growth.” Journal of Political Economy 64(2): 160–164.Google Scholar
Vias, A. 1999. “Jobs Follow People in the Rural Rocky Mountain West.” Rural Development Perspectives 14(2): 14–23.Google Scholar
Wenzl, A. J. 2003. “Consumption Side Up: The Importance of Non-Earnings Income as a New Economic Base in Rural Washington State.” M.A. thesis, Department of Geography, University of Washington.Google Scholar