The Importance of Early Assistance in Cultural Participation

Abstract

This study analyzes the effects of early exposure to culture and the arts on cultural participation during adulthood, based on the hypothesis that cultural habits can be transmitted intergenerationally. In this sense, parents play a key role in fostering their children’s interest in culture and the arts through their participation in cultural activities from childhood. To evaluate this hypothesis, we used data from the Module on Cultural Events (MODECULT), a survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) of residents in Mexico. By estimating a negative binomial model with zero inflation (ZINB), the results corroborated the hypothesis, showing that cultural participation tends to be transmitted from one generation to the next.