Measuring the value of the arts to society: the importance of the value of externalities for lower income and education groups in South Africa
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Antrobus, Geoffrey G
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143134 , vital:38204 , https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2001.tb00034.x
- Description: Governments in many countries have cut their support of the arts on the grounds that it is the pleasure of the higher income, well educated members of society that they are sponsoring. In the 1980's government support of the arts, even in developed countries, fell by 30 per cent (Throsby 1994). While it is true that many studies have found that arts attenders represent the educated, prosperous minority of society (Morrison and West, 1986; Dobson and West, 1990; Hendon 1990), this paper argues that if the social as well as the more traditional economic measures of the value of the arts are considered, it can be shown that many of the positive externalties provided by the arts accrue to lower income and education groups.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Valuing the arts: pitfalls in economic impact studies of arts festivals
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Antrobus, Geoffrey G
- Date: 2002
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143145 , vital:38205 , https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2002.tb00067.x
- Description: Economic impact studies have been used to measure the value of a variety of public and mixed goods, such as arts festivals, sports facilities and educational institutions, partly to motivate for public funds. The attraction of this sort of study rests largely on the fact that it produces a quantifiable monetary measure of the value of a project as opposed to a less easily valued qualitative study. “Public officials, boosters and the media accept the ‘quantifiable’ which appears to represent reality in order to justify a desired project” (Johnson and Sack 1996:370).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
Art for the masses? Justification for the public support of the arts in developing countries – two arts festivals in South Africa
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6077 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006127 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10824-005-5064-5
- Description: In the New South Africa, as in other developing countries, the equitable distribution of public resources is a priority. The case for public support of the arts is thus difficult to make because it has been shown and borne out by South African research, that arts audiences tend to represent the better educated, more prosperous minority of society, not the majority of the very poor, mainly African-origin population. Using data from willingness to pay studies conducted at two South African arts festivals, this paper shows that, when the positive externalities provided by the arts are included in their valuation, it can be shown that both high and low income earners benefit. However, as suggested by Seaman (2003), it is also found that some of what the WTP figure is capturing is current and expected future economic benefit from the event.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Five unpublished coins of Alexander the great and his successors in the Rhodes University collection
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Snowball, Warren D
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70359 , vital:29648 , http://dx.doi.org/10.7445/50-0-73
- Description: The article briefly discusses the economic and political significance of the Alexander III(“the Great”) type silver tetradrachm and publishes three of his coins currently held by the Rhodes University Classics Museum. Based on stylistic elements, they are classified as from the Amphipolis and Arados mints and were probably minted during his lifetime. Two further tetradrachms from the empires of Alexander’s successors, Ptolemy II and Seleucus IV, are also published.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The economic impact of Rhodes University students on the Grahamstown economy
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Antrobus, Geoffrey G
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67475 , vital:29099
- Description: Publisher version , From Executive Summary: This study compares the spending patterns and economic impact of three groups of Rhodes University students: South Africans (SA), Other Africans and students from the Rest of the World (RoW). Data was collected via self-completion questionnaires and the final sample size was 163. Despite differences in spending patterns, total spending was found to be remarkably similar across groups, the major differences being between those students in university residence and those in digs (rented accommodation in town). Total monthly spending for those in residence was highest for SA students (R1034), then Other Africans (R850) and finally RoW (R777). For those in digs, total monthly spending was very similar, but again highest for SA students (R2495), then RoW (R2480) and then students from Other African countries (R2461). SA students have a considerably lower average unearned income than other groups, with students from the RoW having the highest unearned income (R1060 for those in residence and R2300 for those in digs). However, 55% of SA students, compared to 47% of foreign students, have sources of earned income, usually related to the university. Monthly income also tended to be higher for SA students (R654) than for other groups (Other Africa = R557; RoW = R575). The general conclusion that can be drawn is that there is very little difference in total spending between groups, although SA students have a somewhat higher average than others. A straight line ordinary least squares regression showed that, holding all else constant, SA students spent on average R169 more per month than foreign students (significant at the 10% level).
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- Date Issued: 2005
Is economic impact a good way of justifying the inclusion of foreign students at local universities?
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Antrobus, Geoffrey G
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67470 , vital:29098 , http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/sajhe.v20i3.25593
- Description: Pre-print , In the debate surrounding the costs and benefits of having foreign students at South African universities, the financial contributions of foreign students to their host economies is sometimes cited. This article reports the results of a comparison between the economic impact on the Grahamstown economy of the spending of foreign and local students at Rhodes University. It finds that the spending patterns of both types of students are remarkably similar and that the somewhat higher economic impact of foreign students is largely as a result of their propensity to choose the more expensive residence accommodation, rather than as a result of greater average spending generally. We suggest that economic impact studies should be used with caution when making the case for continued public subsidy of goods with significant non-market values and that opportunity costs should also be considered.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
What matters in economics teaching and learning? A case study of an introductory macroeconomics course in South Africa
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Wilson, M K
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68500 , vital:29270 , https://doi.org/10.19030/tlc.v3i11.1659
- Description: Publisher version , In many universities, economics lecturers now face the challenge of dealing with large, diverse classes, especially at undergraduate level. A common concern is the non-attendance at lectures of unmotivated (conscript) students. Poor lecture quality, as reflected in student evaluations of teaching (SETs), is often blamed for lack of attendance and consequent poor performance. This paper presents the results of a student assessment of a macroeconomics 1 course, coupled with a self-assessment of their own input into the course. The results obtained, using econometric models, suggest that students inputs and attitudes to the course are equally, or more, important than lecture attendance itself.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Using the tutorial system to improve the quality of feedback to students in large class teaching
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Sayigh, Elizabeth
- Date: 2007
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70848 , vital:29752
- Description: In many universities, economics teachers now face the challenge of dealing with large, diverse classes, especially at undergraduate level. A common concern is the non-attendance at lectures of unmotivated (conscript) students. This paper presents the results of a student assessment of a macroeconomics 1 course, coupled with a self-assessment of their own input into the course. The results obtained, using an econometric model, suggest that what students do outside of lectures is equally, or more, important than lecture attendance itself. The paper concludes by examining the possibility of using peer assessed group learning as a feasible way to encourage deep learning in large classes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
Breaking into the conversation: cultural value and the role of the South African National Arts Festival from apartheid to democracy
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Webb, Arthur C M
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71311 , vital:29832 , https://doi.org/10.1080/10286630802106326
- Description: The paper examines the value of the South African National Arts Festival (NAF) in the transition to democracy using theories of cultural capital. NAF history from 1974 to 2004 is used to argue that the Festival provided an important arena for the expression of political resistance in the 1980s and, to some degree, continues to do so today. It is concluded that an important part of the value of the arts is their ability to provide a forum for debating the goals and values of society and that individualistic utility theory is not always successful in measuring such social value.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Alan Peacock and Ilde Rizzo: the heritage game
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71470 , vital:29856 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-009-9106-2
- Description: The Heritage Game has an ambitious aim: to persuade those engaged in heritage management that economists have a valuable contribution to make and that they should be allowed to join the table where decisions are made—not as occasional “hired guns” consulting on specific matters, but as routine and continuous contributors to the discussion. As such, the book explains and illuminates some of the fundamental ideas in economics (consumer sovereignty, moral hazard, incentives, opportunity cost) as applied to the “heritage biz”. It is written in a light-hearted style that fulfils the authors’ intention of “making economics palatable and even enjoyable … offering both instruction and entertainment” (p. 10). Even economists familiar with the field will thus find it a pleasurable read, filled as it is with humorous anecdotes and examples drawn from the authors’ personal experiences as contributors to heritage management and policy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Investigating how the attributes of live theatre productions influence consumption choices using conjoint analysis : the example of the National Arts Festival, South Africa
- Authors: Willis, K G , Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6075 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003825 , http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10824-009-9097-z
- Description: While there is a fair amount of work on determinants of demand for the live performing arts, results have often been contradictory with little explanatory power. This may be because of the difficulty in describing the attributes of a performance, particularly in terms of its quality, and the heterogeneity of consumer preferences. This article uses conjoint analysis, also called choice experiments, to investigate the impact of the attributes of live theatre performances on demand, using data collected from 483 randomly chosen attenders at live theatre performances at the 2008 South African National Arts Festival. Attributes include the type of cast (professional, semi-professional or amateur), reputation of the producer/director, the context or setting, production type and ticket price of the show. Results largely support the a priori expectations based on the results of other demand studies. For example, it is found that the age of consumers affects the type of show chosen, that utility and willingness to pay increase for shows with professional and semi-professional casts and that 93% of the potential audience prefer shows with a South African context. It is concluded that the method could prove useful to both event organisers and policy makers, especially where the goal is to broaden access to the arts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
The willingness to pay for dusky kob (Argyrosomus japonicus) restocking: using recreational linefishing licence fees to fund stock enhancement in South Africa
- Authors: Palmer, Ryan M , Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71322 , vital:29833 , https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsp075
- Description: The economic feasibility of stock enhancement of Argyrosomus japonicus in South Africa was investigated using a willingness-to-pay (WTP) survey. The pilot study provides a unique example of the use of the contingent valuation method as a valuation tool for a proposed stock enhancement programme. An increase in the cost of a recreational fishing permit is used as a potential vehicle of payment. The median value of the maximum that fishers were willing to pay for a recreational fishing permit was R155 (South African Rand) for frequent fishers and R100 for non-frequent fishers. Analysis showed that a fee of more than R100 excluded up to 50% of anglers from the fishery, but that a fee of R100 excluded only 28% of recreational anglers and would generate an additional R12 million annually from the sale of recreational fishing permits. The estimated costs of set-up and running of a stock enhancement programme are substantially lower than this, suggesting that stock enhancement may be an economically feasible management option that deserves more investigation. The WTP method itself produces robust results and is likely to be an effective tool in the management of the marine environment.
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- Date Issued: 2009
Government failure and state incapacity: the South African public sector in the 1990s
- Authors: Dollery, Brian , Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71343 , vital:29835 , https://doi.org/10.1080/10113430309511164
- Description: In their editorial introduction to the 1994 Special Issue of the South African Journal of Economic History devoted to a sectoral analysis of the South African economy during the 1980s, Stuart Jones and Jon Inggs described this period as a "lost decade", with per capita incomes even lower in 1990 than they had been in 1980. Moreover, "no other Western country experienced a comparable decline in the 1980s and South Africa herself had never experienced anything like it since the formation of Union in 1910". Thus, from the perspective of economic growth, the decade of the 1990s could not have had a less auspicious beginning.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2010
Introducing a learning management system in a large first year class: impact on lecturers and students
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Mostert, Markus
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68631 , vital:29297 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC37639
- Description: Publisher version , The challenges of teaching large classes are well documented in the literature on teaching in higher education. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have the potential to address some of these challenges, but, used inappropriately, technology can perpetuate entrenched practices and simply support performance models of teaching that encourage transmission approaches to learning. This article reports on the impact of implementing a learning management system (LMS) in a first year introductory macroeconomics course with 600 students in a blended learning context. Experiences of the course coordinator, lecturers and an educational technologist are discussed and data was also collected on student perceptions via a course evaluation questionnaire. Results show that the LMS was successful in a number of areas, particularly in improving the lecturers' accessibility to students and in encouraging interaction and participations in online discussion forums.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2010
The valuation of campus built heritage from the student perspective: comparative analysis of Rhodes University in South Africa and St. Mary’s College of Maryland in the United States
- Authors: Poor, Joan P , Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67488 , vital:29102 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2009.05.002
- Description: Pre-print , Many universities and colleges around the world have done extensive surveys of their campus built heritage resources. A detailed description and accounting of a campus's built heritage, landscape heritage and archaeology, are often used for historic preservation planning, and sustaining built culture is also an important aspect of campus master planning of future buildings. Such institutions of higher education have deep historical roots, in Europe it is not uncommon for buildings to be dated prior to the sixteenth century. In countries where European colonies were established, institutions of higher education often date to the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Once students have arrived at their chosen campus, however, except for perhaps the first week orientation rituals, do the students actually develop ties to their campus built heritage? This research investigates the knowledge students possess of their respective campus built heritage and the importance of built heritage as a legacy to them. Two institutions are included in this study in an effort of draw comparative assessments. A student questionnaire was administered at Rhodes University in South Africa and St. Mary's College of Maryland in the United States during April 2008. Results indicate students on both campuses place positive intrinsic value on their respective campus built heritage. Just over half (52%) of Rhodes students and about 68% of St. Mary's students were willing to pay some positive amount to protect campus built heritage. Empirical probit model results combining the data from both institutions found that current student knowledge of their respective campus built heritage did not positively relate to the value they place on preservation, even though the visual identity was significant for students and influenced their decision to attend the particular institution. The lack of significance regarding a racial variable coefficient estimate suggests that the use of an institution's visual identity in terms of built heritage may have important marketing implications, particularly in cases where universities or colleges are trying to attract students from more diverse backgrounds. We found no significant relationships between willingness to pay to preserve an institution's built heritage and the demographic variables included in our empirical model. Fundraising data analysis includes positive willingness to pay for conserving built heritage, yet funding for new construction was not significant.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
The determinants of happiness among race groups in South Africa
- Authors: Ebrahim, Amina , Botha, Ferdi , Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68589 , vital:29291 , http://www.essa2011.org.za/fullpaper/essa2011_2182.pdf
- Description: Publisher version , Economic indicators, like GDP per capita, are commonly used as indicators of welfare. However, they have a very limited and narrow scope, excluding many potentially important welfare determinants, such as health, relative income and religion - not surprising since they were not originally designed to fill this role. There is thus growing acceptance, and use of, subjective measure of wellbeing, (called ‘happiness’ measures) both worldwide and in South Africa. Happiness economics does not propose to replace income based measure of wellbeing, but rather attempts to compliment them with broader measures, which can be important in making policy decisions that optimise societal welfare. This paper tests for differences in subjective wellbeing between race groups in South Africa, and investigates the determinants of self-rated life satisfaction (happiness) for each group. Using the 2008 National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) data, descriptive methods (ANOVA) and an ordered probit model are applied. Results indicate that reported happiness differs substantially among race groups, with black South Africans being the least happy group despite changes since the advent of democracy in 1994. Higher levels of educational attainment increase satisfaction for the whole sample, and women are generally less happy than men (particularly black women). As found in many other studies, unemployed people have lower levels of life satisfaction than the employed, even when controlling for income and relative income. The determinants of happiness are also different for each race group: While white South Africans attached greater importance to physical health; employment status and absolute income matter greatly for black people. For coloured people and black people, positional status (as measured by relative income) is an important determinant of happiness, with religious involvement significantly contributing to the happiness of Indian people.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The experiences of Fringe producers at the South African National Arts Festival: production, profits and non-market benefits
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Antrobus, Geoffrey G
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/143123 , vital:38203 , DOI: 10.1080/10137548.2009.9687901
- Description: Unlike the performing arts generally, festivals and special events have been growing in popularity worldwide: since the 1980s there has been an explosion of the number of festival of all types, not just arts festivals, but folk festivals, harvest festivals, food festivals, family festivals, carnivals, literary festivals – the list is long. It is estimated that there are more than 300 festivals in the UK (British Federation of Festivals 2004), 1300 in Australia (Johnson et al 2005) and more than 5000 in the US (Blumenthal 2002).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Are arts events a good way of augmenting the economic impact of sport?: The case of the 2010 FIFA world cup and the national arts festival in South Africa
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71430 , vital:29848 , https://econrsa.org/system/files/publications/working_papers/wp294.pdf
- Description: Despite the debate about whether arts consumers are also sports consumers, many countries have used cultural events to leverage further tourism spending from sports events, the most famous example being the cultural Olympics. This paper reports the findings of research conducted at the 2010 South African National Arts Festival, which was specifically timed to coincide with SoccerWorld Cup matches being played in a nearby city. Of the 600 interviews conducted with Festival-goers, only 23% reported also attending World Cup soccer matches. Regression analysis revealed that, while there is some overlap between arts and sports attendees, their demographics and consumption habits are significantly different. However, consumption outside of major events showed somewhat more overlap. This suggests that staging cultural events at the same time as major sporting events is not an ideal strategy, since they tend to compete with, rather than complement, each other.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Five unpublished coins of Alexander the Great and his successors in the Rhodes University Collection
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D , Snowball, Warren D
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68489 , vital:29267 , http://dx.doi.org/10.7445/50-0-73
- Description: Publisher version , The article briefly discusses the economic and political significance of the Alexander III (“the Great”) type silver tetradrachm and publishes three of his coins currently held by the Rhodes University Classics Museum. Based on stylistic elements, they are classified as from the Amphipolis and Arados mints and were probably minted during his lifetime. Two further tetradrachms from the empires of Alexander’s successors, Ptolemy II and Seleucus IV, are also published.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Richard T. Carson: Contingent valuation: a comprehensive bibliography and history
- Authors: Snowball, Jeanette D
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/71504 , vital:29859 , https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10824-012-9165-7.pdf
- Description: For those of us who have been involved in willingness to pay studies for some time, Contingent Valuation: A comprehensive bibliography and history by Richard Carson is a fascinating read, tracking the early development of the method and debates around it from an insider’s perspective. As someone who has not only been involved in contingent valuation research over many years, but who has also been instrumental in shaping it, Richard Carson is the ideal author of this carefully crafted book.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012