ARE GOVERNMENTAL CULTURE DEPARTMENTS IMPORTANT?: An Empirical Investigation

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ARE GOVERNMENTAL CULTURE DEPARTMENTS IMPORTANT?
An Empirical Investigation

• CLIVE GRAY MELVIN WINGFIELD
• Department of Public Policy
• De Montfort University

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IMPORTANCE OR IRRELEVANCE?

• Censorship/manipulation
• Lack of political significance
• Increasing intervention
• New Departments/Re-naming

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COMPARATIVE IMPORTANCE

• Not absolute importance but
• Importance in terms of other departments
• Comparison across nation-states?

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ANALYSIS

• Quantitative allow the answer to follow the
  data
• Rank orderings
• Qualitative allow the answer to guide the data
• Qualitative Comparative Analysis (Crisp-Set)

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QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS I

• Variables
• Expenditure Variation (1993/4-2006/7) financial
  importance for government
• Departmental Age functional importance for
  government
• Cabinet Committee Membership (2009) political
  importance for government
• Public Service Agreements (2008-11)
  implementation importance for government

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QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS II

• Legislation (1992-2008) Parliamentary importance
  for government
• Press Coverage (1992-2005) Public importance for
  government
• 13 Departments ranked
• Culture, Media and Sport 11th

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QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS I

• Variables
• Policy sector significance manifesto coverage
  1992-2005
• Functional centrality central staff compared to
  total staff
• Departmental remit clear/diffuse policy focus
• Ministerial career trajectory pinnacles or
  stepping-stones?

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QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS II

• Specified outcome departmental significance
• What contributes to this outcome?
• Either sector significance and centrality and
  career trajectory
• Or sector significance and career trajectory and
  absence of definition
• Or clear definition and career trajectory and
  absence of sector significance and centrality

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QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS III
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CONCLUSIONS

• For Britain
• The Culture Department is not important for
  government when compared with other departments,
  either quantitatively or qualitatively
• Is this true for other countries?
• How about a comparative study?