Der Museumsvoucher: Eine mögliche Form der Internalisierung positiver externer Effekte für Basel

This article aims at analyzing positive external effects in the arts and culture sector. Politicians often use these externalities as a reason for public (lump sum) subsidies for cultural institutions. This paper tries to internalize these positive externalities of the arts and culture sector by means of a voucher system concept for museums. It is not necessarily the amount of the subsidy which is important for the internalization - the major aspect lies in switching subsidies for the producer to subsidies for the consumer (voucher). With consumer subsidies the museum has a greater incentive to produce more efficiently.