Endowment effect and cultural policy: Italy's political challenges

The article analyzes the endowment effect in cultural policymaking, where benefits once granted become perceived as rights, making reforms politically difficult. It cites Italy's 18app youth culture bonus, free museum Sundays, and the Fondo Unico dello Spettacolo (FUS) as examples. The author argues that opposition parties exploit public attachment to these measures, hindering modifications even when improvements are needed. The piece calls for cross-party consensus on cultural policies to ensure long-term sustainability and avoid market distortions. It emphasizes that structural changes to the FUS are limited to expansions, not reductions, due to this psychological bias. The article concludes that polarized debate prevents objective evaluation of social costs and benefits.