Regional Differences in Cultural Participation in the United States and Europe

• In Event: 20420 - Section on Sociology of Culture Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 3: Cultural Capital and Taste

Abstract

Regional differences permeate society in many respects such as educational attainment, health, and income. In this study, we analyze regional differences in cultural participation in five countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, and Finland. We find that regional differences exist in all countries studied. While the differences decrease and, in some cases, disappear after controlling for socioeconomic factors, this is not true for all countries, nor do we find a common pattern to the regional differences across countries. The patterns of differences are unique to each country. We discuss the role that cultural policies may play in these differences and the implications of our findings for future cultural research.

Authors

• Susan A. Dumais, CUNY-Lehman College

• Jarmo Kallunki

• Riie Heikkilä, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University