Charging for Admission to Museums and Galleries: A Framework for Analysing the Impact on Access

The Labour Government recently stated that access is a cornerstone of all its cultural policies, including those for museums and galleries. This paper therefore outlines a robust paradigm by means of which the impact of admission charges on access can be analysed. In applying that paradigm to museums, it demonstrates a number of analytical and theoretical “red herrings” which serve only to confuse a study of charges, including the “zero marginal cost” argument for free admission. Unless it uses this framework, the Government cannot be sure that it has secured access for the many instead of the few.