DEMAND-FUNCTIONS FOR MUSEUM SERVICES

Museums worldwide are facing financial exigencies and are being forced to rely on earned income, including admission fees, to finance their activities. Using data from the 1989 Museum Survey, we estimate demand functions for seven types of museums in the United States. Previous e mpirical evidence on the effects of admission fees on museum attendanc e have either been anecdotal or case study in nature. This study prese nts the first general empirical evidence on factors influencing the de mand for museum services. Our results provide evidence that the demand for museum services is price inelastic and that museum quality has im portant effects on museum demand. We also argue that our results indic ate that the adverse effects of admission charges on attendance are sm all and relatively easy to alleviate.