The economic foundation of cultural institutions has become more than ever a public issue. Increased efforts are necessary to avoid cultural loss as art, artists, and cultural institutions increasingly fall directly or indirectly under the dictates of the market. Meaningful design of market relationships, determined by respect for the intrinsic significance of culture, can, on the one hand, open up conceivable ways to escape state paternalism while still not succumbing to commercial pressures. It is about counteracting cultural policy and actively shaping the signals of the impending change. A deeper understanding of the interrelationships between culture and economy is a prerequisite for this. The book offers approaches and insights from a cultural economics perspective that challenge the orthodox economic theories of neoclassicism.