Interim D'Art Report: Inter-country comparisons of government arts expenditure

D'Art Topics in Arts Policy no.13, June 2003

IFACCA and Canada Council for the Arts

This interim report provides a brief introduction to issues involved in making cross-country comparisons of government expenditures on arts and culture. After reviewing some well-known comparisons, the paper discusses problems inherent in such comparisons, drawing particular attention to an inability to account for indirect expenditures (such as tax foregone) due to lack of data. As a result of these problems, the paper argues that proper comparisons are not able to be made. A list of references is provided.

This is an interim report that provides preliminary references.

See also Making Cross-country Comparisons: Problems and Solutions2004 by IFACCA and the Australia Council.