Expenditure on cultural events: preferences or opportunities? An analysis of Brazilian consumer data

Abstract

Brazil is characterized by a sharp consumption market and cultural activities across its distinct locations and social groups. With this in mind, this paper focuses on the relationship between supply of cultural facilities in Brazilian Metropolitan Regions (MR) and household expenditure on outdoor cultural activities through estimation of a two-stage (households and MRs) multilevel logistic model, using microdata from the Brazilian Consumer Expenditure Survey of 2002–2003 and 2008–2009. It was concluded that there is a strong concentration of expenditure distribution among different socioeconomic groups, and that expenditures on outdoor cultural activities (movies, concerts and arts) have demonstrated to be weakly correlated with the qualities of the different study Brazilian MRs, because greater variability of expenditure occurs within these regions. Thus, we also confirmed the hypothesis that recent advances in cultural policies have not been enough to reverse the inertia of inequality. Therefore, public initiatives in favor of cultural democratization, especially for inclusion of lower classes in cultural spaces, should consider the issue comprehensively, combining institutional supply issues, urban policy and public education.