Economic Significance of Cultural Industries and Adverse Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid spread of infections has led to considerable restrictions for health policy reasons, which severely affect the cultural industries in Austria. The study quantifies the contribution of the expanded cultural sector to the Austrian gross domestic product at slightly less than 3 percent. The direct and indirect value-added effects of the cultural sector are estimated at around 9.8 billion €, providing for some 150,000 jobs (employed and self-employed). The economic damage in connection with the COVID-19 crisis is estimated to amount to 1.5 to 2 billion € and is distributed differently among the subsectors of the culture sector.