The Supply of Performing Arts in Metropolitan Places

Abstract

Consistent with a general assumption of central place theory, the number of performing arts organizations in metropolitan places is a function of population size. Central place theory also posits that the relation between the two untransformed variables is a deciding exponential function owing to economies of scale. However, the relationship for these data is linear, indicating that the population base that supports arts organizations is constant, regardless of how large the metropolis is. Although urban size is a powerful predictor of the numbers of performing art institutions, the remaining variation is examined in terms of region and metropolitan factors that include stratification variables, government fragmentation, and an aggregate index of status inconsistency.