Emerging modes of public cultural spending: Direct support through production delegation

•We discuss the actual evolution of cultural policy models.•We address the emerging phenomenon of outsourcing of public cultural services in Italy.•Direct support through production delegation is defined as a new cultural policy model.•Economic factors and political motivations are behind the adoption of this model.•We propose a heuristic model for the choice of different cultural policy models.

This article addresses the evolution of modes of public support of cultural production by discussing and analysing the emerging phenomenon of outsourcing of public cultural services taking place in Continental Europe, especially Italy. We argue that in this context, which is traditionally characterised by the public production of cultural services, the current outsourcing trend is changing the very nature of public intervention in the market for cultural goods and services. This change leads to the recognition and definition of a new category of public intervention in the cultural field: direct support through production delegation. Its main and distinctive feature is a combination of institutional arrangements aimed at reducing public spending inefficiency while preserving government determination of cultural policy guidelines. Increased uncertainty about economic conditions, such as the prospective cost reductions associated with outsourcing, future economic cycles and cultural consumer preferences, may also help explain the selection of this institutional arrangement.