Pitävä ote kulttuuritoimintojen aluetaloudellisista vaikutuksista ja merkityksistä? Tapauksena Seinäjoen rytmimusiikkiklusteri

Abstract

This article examines ways of combining quantitative and qualitative analysis concerning the regional
economic impacts and meanings of culture. The role of cultural activity in detail has been examined
from various points of view. On the one hand, there are a great number of studies concentrating on the
quantifiable impacts of regional cultural activity, and on the other hand there is a large body of qualitative
research focusing on the indirect and tertiary meanings of regional cultural activity and issues such as
clustering, networking, the image of cities etc. This study combines both of these views by examining the
case of the Seinäjoki rhythm music cluster. Quantitative analysis was conducted with computable general
equilibrium (CGE) modelling. In addition, qualitative specialist interviews, a workshop and a light survey
were conducted. It can be said that the qualitative and quantitative sides of a multi-disciplinary combination
of methods supported each other during the study. The qualitative view made it possible to understand the
background, scope and tertiary meanings of the phenomenon and helped to interpret hard numerical data
and reference points provided by the CGE modelling. However, it became evident that it is very difficult
to create genuinely cross-disciplinary research setting.