The Association for Cultural Economics International (ACEI) is an international association of academics, practitioners, professionals, and policymakers dedicated to promoting scholarly research into the economics of the arts and cultural activities.

The beginnings of the association date to the 1970s when William Hendon, along with James Shanahan and colleagues from the University of Akron, Ohio, formed the Association for Cultural Economics (ACE). In 1977, Hendon created the Journal of Cultural Economics (JCE), which he edited himself and produced from a single printing press. The newly formed ACE and JCE captured the interest of economists, including Mark Blaug, William Baumol, and Sir Alan Peacock. The contributions of these economists others to the ACE and the Journal of Cultural Economics laid the foundations for the field of cultural economics.

The consolidation of this society of study was achieved through the organisation of the ACE’s first international conference of cultural economics in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1979, by Sir Alan Peacock.

Conferences Following the initial debut, the ACE held further conferences and workshops in collaboration with host organizations around the world. These conferences sparked global discussion and scholarly investigation into the integral role of the arts in economic development. Over time, the focus of discussion at these conferences evolved towards data-based and empirical analysis of the arts and culture, which gave rise to the development of various econometric modelling techniques as well as alternative methods for quantifying the true value of creative arts, heritage, and culture. As a result, ACEI has become the go-to organisation for many academics and other professionals with an interest in the arts and cultural practices.

List of international conferences YearOther InformationCityCountry19791st International ConferenceEdinburghScotland19822nd International ConferenceMaastrichtNetherlands19843rd International ConferenceAkron, OhioUSA19864th International ConferenceAvignonFrance19885th International ConferenceOttawaCanada19906th International ConferenceUmeaSweden19927th International ConferenceFort Worth, TexasUSA19948th International ConferenceWitten/HerdeckeGermany19969th International ConferenceBoston, MassachusettsUSA199810th International ConferenceBarcelonaSpain200011th International ConferenceMinneapolis, MinnesotaUSA200212th International ConferenceRotterdamNetherlands200413th International ConferenceChicago, IllinoisUSA200614th International ConferenceViennaAustria200815th International ConferenceBoston, MassachusettsUSA201016th International ConferenceCopenhagenDenmark201217th International ConferenceKyotoJapan201418th International ConferenceMontrealCanada201619th International ConferenceValladolidSpain201820th International ConferenceMelbourneAustralia202121st International ConferenceOnlineGlobally202322nd International Conference Bloomington, IndianaUSA202523rd International ConferenceRotterdamNetherlands

List of workshops YearWorkshopHost institutionCountryEuropean Workshop on Applied Cultural Economics (EWACE)20031st EWACEUniversity of BolognaItaly20052nd EWACEUniversity of OviedoSpain20073rd EWACEUniversity of CataniaItaly20094th EWACEAdnan Menderes UniversityTürkiye20115th EWACETrinity College DublinIreland20136th EWACEUniversity of LjubljanaSlovenia20157th EWACEAustrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)Austria20178th EWACEKrakow University of EconomicsPoland20199th EWACECopenhagen Business SchoolDenmark202210th EWACEUniversity of TurinItaly202411th EWACEUniversity of ValladolidSpain202612th EWACEInstituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto (ISCAP) & Faculty of Economics, University of PortoPortugalNorth American Workshop on Cultural Economics (NAWCE)20111st NAWCEBrandeis University, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) & Southern Economic AssociationUnited States / Canada20132nd NAWCEBrandeis University, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) & Southern Economic AssociationUnited States / Canada20153rd NAWCEBrandeis University, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) & Southern Economic AssociationUnited States / Canada20174th NAWCEUniversité du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) & CIRANOCanada20195th NAWCEUniversité du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) & Southern Economic AssociationCanada20226th NAWCEFlorida Gulf Coast University & Southern Economic AssociationUnited States20247th NAWCEFlorida Gulf Coast University & Southern Economic AssociationUnited States20268th NAWCEArts, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Lab, Indiana UniversityUnited StatesAsian Workshop on Cultural Economics (AWCE)20111st AWCEJapan Association of Cultural Economics (JACE) & Doshisha UniversityJapan20132nd AWCEJapan Association of Cultural Economics (JACE)Japan20153rd AWCEJapan Association of Cultural Economics (JACE) & Doshisha UniversityJapan20174th AWCEJapan Association of Cultural Economics (JACE) & Doshisha UniversityJapan20195th AWCERMIT VietnamVietnam20226th AWCESingapore Management UniversitySingapore20247th AWCEInstitute of Public CollaborationSouth Korea20268th AWCECenter for the Study of the Creative Economy, Doshisha UniversityJapanIberoamerican Seminar on Cultural Economics (SIEC)20171st SIECNational University of ColombiaColombia20192nd SIECAustral University of ChileChile20223rd SIECFederal University of Minas GeraisBrazil20244th SIECNational Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)Mexico20265th SIECUniversidad Técnica Particular de LojaEcuador

Association structure The ACEI exists as a membership association with elected officers, an executive board, and an official constitution.

Presidents The administrative and academic development of the ACEI has been overseen by its successive presidents. A chronological list of all the presidents is provided below: Presidential periodPresident's nameAffiliationCountry1992 - 1994Dick NetzerNew York UniversityUSA1994 - 1996Michael HutterWitten/Herdecke UniversityGermany1996 - 1998David ThrosbyMacquarie UniversityAustralia1998 - 2000John O'HaganTrinity College DublinIreland2000 - 2002Bruce SeamanGeorgia State UniversityUSA2002 - 2004Victor GinsburghUniversité Libre de BruxellesBelgium2004 - 2006Charles M. GrayUniversity of St. ThomasUSA2006 - 2008Ruth TowseBournemouth UniversityUnited Kingdom2008 - 2010Gillian DoyleUniversity of GlasgowUnited Kingdom2010 - 2012Roberto ZanolaAmedeo Avogadro University of Eastern PiedmontItaly2012 - 2014Françoise BenhamouUniversity Sorbonne Paris NordFrance2014 - 2016Arjo KlamerErasmus University RotterdamNetherlands2016 - 2018Ilde RizzoUniversity of CataniaItaly2018 - 2021Alan CollinsNottingham Trent UniversityUnited Kingdom2021 - 2023Trine BilleCopenhagen Business SchoolDenmark2023 - 2025Luis Cesar HerreroUniversity of ValladolidSpain2025 - on goingKarol J. BorowieckiUniversity of Southern DenmarkDenmark

References