Association for Cultural Economics International
The Association for Cultural Economics International (ACEI)[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
List of international conferences
| Year | Other Information | City | Country |
| 1979 | 1st International Conference | Edinburgh | Scotland |
| 1982 | 2nd International Conference | Maastricht | Netherlands |
| 1984 | 3rd International Conference | Akron, Ohio | USA |
| 1986 | 4th International Conference | Avignon | France |
| 1988 | 5th International Conference | Ottawa | Canada |
| 1990 | 6th International Conference | Umea | Sweden |
| 1992 | 7th International Conference | Fort Worth, Texas | USA |
| 1994 | 8th International Conference | Witten/Herdecke | Germany |
| 1996 | 9th International Conference | Boston, Massachusetts | USA |
| 1998 | 10th International Conference | Barcelona | Spain |
| 2000 | 11th International Conference | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA |
| 2002 | 12th International Conference | Rotterdam | Netherlands |
| 2004 | 13th International Conference | Chicago, Illinois | USA |
| 2006 | 14th International Conference[4] | Vienna | Austria |
| 2008 | 15th International Conference | Boston, Massachusetts | USA |
| 2010 | 16th International Conference | Copenhagen | Denmark |
| 2012 | 17th International Conference | Kyoto | Japan |
| 2014 | 18th International Conference | Montreal | Canada |
| 2016 | 19th International Conference | Valladolid | Spain |
| 2018 | 20th International Conference | Melbourne | Australia |
| 2021 | 21st International Conference | Online | Globally |
| 2023 | 22nd International Conference [5] | Bloomington, Indiana | USA |
| 2025 | 23rd International Conference[6] | Rotterdam | Netherlands |
List of workshops
| Year | Workshop | Host institution | Country |
| European Workshop on Applied Cultural Economics (EWACE) | |||
| 2003 | 1st EWACE | University of Bologna | Italy |
| 2005 | 2nd EWACE | University of Oviedo | Spain |
| 2007 | 3rd EWACE | University of Catania | Italy |
| 2009 | 4th EWACE | Adnan Menderes University | Türkiye |
| 2011 | 5th EWACE | Trinity College Dublin | Ireland |
| 2013 | 6th EWACE | University of Ljubljana | Slovenia |
| 2015 | 7th EWACE | Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) | Austria |
| 2017 | 8th EWACE | Krakow University of Economics | Poland |
| 2019 | 9th EWACE | Copenhagen Business School | Denmark |
| 2022 | 10th EWACE | University of Turin | Italy |
| 2024 | 11th EWACE | University of Valladolid | Spain |
| 2026 | 12th EWACE | Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto (ISCAP) & Faculty of Economics, University of Porto | Portugal |
| North American Workshop on Cultural Economics (NAWCE) | |||
| 2011 | 1st NAWCE | Brandeis University, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) & Southern Economic Association | United States / Canada |
| 2013 | 2nd NAWCE | Brandeis University, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) & Southern Economic Association | United States / Canada |
| 2015 | 3rd NAWCE | Brandeis University, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) & Southern Economic Association | United States / Canada |
| 2017 | 4th NAWCE | Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) & CIRANO | Canada |
| 2019 | 5th NAWCE | Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) & Southern Economic Association | Canada |
| 2022 | 6th NAWCE | Florida Gulf Coast University & Southern Economic Association | United States |
| 2024 | 7th NAWCE | Florida Gulf Coast University & Southern Economic Association | United States |
| 2026 | 8th NAWCE | Arts, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Lab, Indiana University | United States |
| Asian Workshop on Cultural Economics (AWCE) | |||
| 2011 | 1st AWCE | Japan Association of Cultural Economics (JACE) & Doshisha University | Japan |
| 2013 | 2nd AWCE | Japan Association of Cultural Economics (JACE) | Japan |
| 2015 | 3rd AWCE | Japan Association of Cultural Economics (JACE) & Doshisha University | Japan |
| 2017 | 4th AWCE | Japan Association of Cultural Economics (JACE) & Doshisha University | Japan |
| 2019 | 5th AWCE | RMIT Vietnam | Vietnam |
| 2022 | 6th AWCE | Singapore Management University | Singapore |
| 2024 | 7th AWCE | Institute of Public Collaboration | South Korea |
| 2026 | 8th AWCE | Center for the Study of the Creative Economy, Doshisha University | Japan |
| Iberoamerican Seminar on Cultural Economics (SIEC) | |||
| 2017 | 1st SIEC | National University of Colombia | Colombia |
| 2019 | 2nd SIEC | Austral University of Chile | Chile |
| 2022 | 3rd SIEC | Federal University of Minas Gerais | Brazil |
| 2024 | 4th SIEC | National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) | Mexico |
| 2026 | 5th SIEC | Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja | Ecuador |
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 period | President's name | Affiliation | Country |
| 1992 - 1994 | Dick Netzer | New York University | USA |
| 1994 - 1996 | Michael Hutter | Witten/Herdecke University | Germany |
| 1996 - 1998 | David Throsby | Macquarie University | Australia |
| 1998 - 2000 | John O'Hagan | Trinity College Dublin | Ireland |
| 2000 - 2002 | Bruce Seaman | Georgia State University | USA |
| 2002 - 2004 | Victor Ginsburgh | Université Libre de Bruxelles | Belgium |
| 2004 - 2006 | Charles M. Gray | University of St. Thomas | USA |
| 2006 - 2008 | Ruth Towse | Bournemouth University | United Kingdom |
| 2008 - 2010 | Gillian Doyle | University of Glasgow | United Kingdom |
| 2010 - 2012 | Roberto Zanola | Amedeo Avogadro University of Eastern Piedmont | Italy |
| 2012 - 2014 | Françoise Benhamou | University Sorbonne Paris Nord | France |
| 2014 - 2016 | Arjo Klamer | Erasmus University Rotterdam | Netherlands |
| 2016 - 2018 | Ilde Rizzo | University of Catania | Italy |
| 2018 - 2021 | Alan Collins | Nottingham Trent University | United Kingdom |
| 2021 - 2023 | Trine Bille | Copenhagen Business School | Denmark |
| 2023 - 2025 | Luis Cesar Herrero | University of Valladolid | Spain |
| 2025 - on going | Karol J. Borowiecki | University of Southern Denmark | Denmark |
References
- ↑ "Association for Cultural Economics International". ACEI. 2026-06-30. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ "History".
- ↑ Towse, Ruth (2020-02-06). "Teaching Cultural Economics". In Bille, Trine; Mignosa, Anna; Towse, Ruth (eds.). Teaching Cultural Economics. Edward Elgar Publishing. doi:10.4337/9781788970747.00008. ISBN 978-1-78897-074-7. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ 勝浦, 正樹; 後藤, 和子 (2006), "A Report on the 14th International Conference on Cultural Economics", 文化経済学, 5, 文化経済学会〈日本〉, doi:10.11195/jace1998.5.2_107, 2, retrieved 2026-07-10
- ↑ Noonan, Douglas S.; Etro, Federico (2024-09-01). "The "Bloomington Issue"". Journal of Cultural Economics. 48 (3): 335–337. doi:10.1007/s10824-024-09520-2. ISSN 1573-6997.
- ↑ Fontana, Alice (2025-07-01). "ACEI 2025: A LANDMARK GATHERING FOR CULTURAL ECONOMISTS AROUND THE GLOBE". ACEI. Retrieved 2026-07-10.