Public funding and repertoire conventionality in the German public theatre sector: an econometric analysis

This study empirically examines the relationship between public funding and repertoire decisions in the German public theatre sector. A cross-sectional econometric model is constructed to estimate the effects for a sample of 127 public theatres covering the theatre season 1998/1999 using a conventionality index as the dependent variable which has to be calculated first. The empirical results show that public subsidy, subscription income, multiple venues, the existence of other theatres in a community as well as the size and the level of education of a community have a significant impact on repertoire conventionality.