4. Government expenditure on culture and media

Within the national accounts, the government sector encompasses the classic government that mainly deals with public administration. In particular, this concerns the central government, municipalities, provinces, water boards and compulsory social security institutions. The Public administration and public services sector, as set out in the supply and use table, consists of aforementioned government sectors, as well as services on which the government more or less has a monopoly, such as police, the justice system and defence.

However, in addition to these government sectors which are primary dealing with public administration, a large group of organisations and institutes that are also counted under government carries out tasks delegated to it by central government, the provinces and municipalities. These institutes are mainly included as non-profit institutions (NPIs) at a local or central government level, depending on the level of government under which these organisations fall. In a general sense, these include a large number of publicly financed educational institutions, sheltered employment, regional transport organisations, waste processing firms and institutions concerned with health and welfare. Examples of institutions in the culture and media sector that are counted as government institutions include many libraries and museums, the Rijksmuseum, the National Library of the Netherlands, regional broadcasters and the Netherlands Broadcasting Corporation (NOS).

As has already been mentioned, the government organisations dealing with public administration are classified under the industry Public Administration and Public Services. Government organisations such as libraries, museums and broadcasters are divided into either Libraries, Museums and Nature Conservation or Radio and Television Broadcasters; these are also services that fall within culture and media rather than public administration.

The box in this chapter briefly explains which decision-making rules underpin the choice of whether or not to include an organisation in the government sector.

What does CBS include in the government sector?

To produce macroeconomic statistics about public finances, such as the general government balance and government debt, CBS defines the government according to European regulations and guidelines. As a general rule, two questions should be answered in order to determine whether an organisation should be included in the government:

Do public institutions have decisive control? This means: are public institutions authorised to set the institution’s general policy or programme?
Is the institution a market producer? That is to say: does the institution operate in a market in which the prices and the amounts of its goods and services are determined by supply and demand?

Because this definition of a market producer is somewhat abstract, in order to determine whether or not a public entity is a market producer, a concrete criterion known as the ‘50% criterion’ is applied. This criterion is based on the relationship between the sales and the production costs. To be considered a market producer, the public entity must cover at least 50 percent of its production costs through sales over a continuous period of at least three years. For example: housing foundations and associations and the educational institutions financed by DUO are both public entities. When the 50% criterion is applied, it becomes clear that the housing foundations and associations cover almost all their production costs through sales, such as rental income; they are therefore market producers, which makes them public corporations. The educational institutions, on the other hand, make almost no sales, which means that they are not market producers and are instead government institutions. For similar reasons, rail travel provider NS is a public corporation and rail network manager ProRail is a government organisation. Public corporations do not belong to the government sector; they are ‘simply’ part of the business sector.

On the basis of the above, the scope of the government sector is therefore broader than public administration alone (central government, municipalities, provinces, water boards). A large number of institutions that are counted as government institution carry out duties delegated to them by the central government, municipalities, provinces and water boards. These duties belong to very diverse areas: from health and welfare through research and development to culture. Especially when it comes to other local government, many organisations are included in the statistics, such as welfare organisations, museums, libraries, sheltered workplaces and institutions for youth protection and juvenile rehabilitation.

For a more detailed explanation and the complete list of institutions that CBS considers to be part of the government, please see: What does Statistics Netherlands (CBS) count as government sector? (page in Dutch)

1.3 percent government expenditure on culture and media

Total government expenditure in 2022 was 429.7 billion euros; 5.7 billion (1.3 percent) of this was spent on culture and media⁵⁾. This share was 1.5 percent in 2018, meaning that expenditure on culture and media increased by slightly less than total government expenditure between 2018 and 2022.

In 2022, 64.8 percent of government expenditure on culture and media related to the production of cultural and media products, and 35.2 percent consisted of other expenditure. In 2018, the percentage of expenditure related to the production of culture and media products was slightly higher at 68.2 percent. When we look at the total government expenditure , it is ‘other expenditure’ category that accounts for the larger share. In 2022, the share of ‘other expenditure’ was 59.8 percent, compared to 40.2 percent for expenditure related to production (see Figures 4.2 and 4.3).

‘Other expenditure’ is largely made up of redistributive spending: money from public funds that is redistributed in the form of subsidies, capital transfers, income transfers and – especially by general government – social benefits⁶⁾. Production-related government expenditure refers to the government’s expenditure that is derived from the provision of public services. This includes public administration by the central government and the municipalities and provinces, as well as public services provided by organisations that are classified as government organisations. In terms of culture and media, these organisations include the Rijksmuseum, the National Library of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Broadcasting Corporation, the Dutch Media Authority and many regional museums, libraries and broadcasters. These types of organisations are included among the NPIs for the level of government to which they belong.

4.1 Government spending on culture and media¹, by layer of government
% of total spending by layer of goverment	2018 (% of total expenditure by layer of goverment)	2022 (% of total expenditure by layer of goverment)
Government2	1.5	1.3

Central government	1.3	1.1
o.w. National government	1.1	1.1
Other central government	7.3	6.3

Local government3	2.5	2.2
o.w. Municipalities	3.2	2.8
Provinces	5.1	4.8
Local NPIs	18.3	16.9
N.B. This is the government's consolidated expenditure. Payments from the National government to local government for instance are spendings of National government, but not for the government as a whole. ¹⁾Spending on policy areas 8.02 Culture and 8.03 Publishers and broadcasters in the Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG). ²⁾In addition to central and local government, social security funds also come under ‘government’. The social security funds’ expenditure is therefore included in the total for the government but not listed separately because expenditure on culture and media is nil. ³⁾Water boards, joint schemes and some educational institutions are also counted as local government. These institutes’ expenditure is therefore included in the total expenditure for local government but not stated separately, because expenditure on culture and media is practically nil.

4.1 Government spending on culture and media¹, by layer of government
% of total spending by layer of goverment	2018 (% of total expenditure by layer of goverment)	2022 (% of total expenditure by layer of goverment)
Government2	1.5	1.3

Central government	1.3	1.1
o.w. National government	1.1	1.1
Other central government	7.3	6.3

Local government3	2.5	2.2
o.w. Municipalities	3.2	2.8
Provinces	5.1	4.8
Local NPIs	18.3	16.9
N.B. This is the government's consolidated expenditure. Payments from the National government to local government for instance are spendings of National government, but not for the government as a whole. ¹⁾Spending on policy areas 8.02 Culture and 8.03 Publishers and broadcasters in the Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG). ²⁾In addition to central and local government, social security funds also come under ‘government’. The social security funds’ expenditure is therefore included in the total for the government but not listed separately because expenditure on culture and media is nil. ³⁾Water boards, joint schemes and some educational institutions are also counted as local government. These institutes’ expenditure is therefore included in the total expenditure for local government but not stated separately, because expenditure on culture and media is practically nil.

General government

In 2022, the general government spent 3.2 billion euros on culture and media⁷⁾. This represents a decrease in the share of culture and media in total expenditure by general government, from 1.3 percent in 2018 to 1.1 percent in 2022. General government expenditure is distributed roughly equally between production-related expenditure and other expenditure.

Within general government, a distinction is made between the central government (the State) and other central government. For the central government, other expenditure on culture and media dominates: in 2022, 92.3 percent of expenditure was other expenditure and 7.7 percent was associated with production. For other central government, expenditure is spread more evenly between the two categories.

Central government’s share of expenditure on culture and media was 1.1 percent of total expenditure in 2022, and has been stable over the years. For other central government there has been a decline. In 2022 the share was 6.3 percent, compared with 7.3 percent in 2018.

Local government

In 2022, local government spent 2.8 billion euros on culture and media, representing 2.2 percent of total local government expenditure in that year (2.5 percent in 2018)⁸⁾. At the local government level, expenditure on culture and media is dominated by production-related expenditure. Local cultural institutions contribute significantly in this area. While this group’s expenditure on culture and media consists almost entirely of expenditure related to production – ‘delivering’ cultural and media products – other expenditures are still prevalent by the municipalities . Moreover, some of this spending flows to local cultural institutions, which can be seen as the final destination of these redistribution transactions.

The provinces do not spend generally a lot of money, and that also applies to the area of culture and media. In relative terms, however, the provinces spend more than municipalities: in 2022, the share spent of total provincial expenditure that went to culture and media was 4.8 percent, while for municipalities the share was 2.8 percent.

4.2a Total government expenditure, 2022
Total government	Expenditure associated with production (% of total expenditure)	Other expenditure (% of total expenditure)
Local NPIs	94	6
Other central government	86	14
Local government	80	20
Municipalities	55	45
Provinces	51	49
Government	40	60
Central government	24	76
National government	14	86

4.2a Total government expenditure, 2022
Total government	Expenditure associated with production (% of total expenditure)	Other expenditure (% of total expenditure)
Local NPIs	94	6
Other central government	86	14
Local government	80	20
Municipalities	55	45
Provinces	51	49
Government	40	60
Central government	24	76
National government	14	86

4.2b Total government expenditure on culture and media, 2022
Culture and media	Expenditure associated with production (% of total expenditure)	Other expenditure (% of total expenditure)
Local NPIs	97	3
Other central government	50	50
Local government	84	16
Municipalities	41	59
Provinces	25	75
Government	65	35
Central government	43	57
National government	8	92

4.2b Total government expenditure on culture and media, 2022
Culture and media	Expenditure associated with production (% of total expenditure)	Other expenditure (% of total expenditure)
Local NPIs	97	3
Other central government	50	50
Local government	84	16
Municipalities	41	59
Provinces	25	75
Government	65	35
Central government	43	57
National government	8	92

Local NPIs account for the largest share of culture and media

Local NPIs had the largest share (16.9 percent in 2022) for culture and media in total expenditure among all the various levels of government. This refers to the local museums, libraries and regional broadcasters that are treated as government organisations. Other central government is the second highest at 6.3 percent.

Share of culture and media is decreasing

The share of culture and media in total expenditure decreased in almost every level of government between 2018 and 2022, This does not necessarily indicate a reduction of expenditure, as other expenditure categories may have increased more rapidly. In nominal terms, the government expenditure on culture and media did increase. Its growth was simply at a lower rate than growth in other types of government expenditure .

The government’s total consolidated expenditure on culture and media in 2022 amounted to 3.5 billion euros, while expenditure on publishers and broadcasters (media) amounted to 1.3 billion euros in that year. It is important to note that expenditure on culture is concentrated more at the local level, while expenditure on publishing and broadcasting is concentrated more within central government.

Detailed results on government expenditure on culture and media are provided in Table 4.

⁵⁾ This is the government’s consolidated expenditure, meaning that it does not include cash flows within the government. This is particularly relevant to the subsidies and income transfers. This is also why, for example, the sum of subsidies and income transfers from central and local government is greater than the government total. Cash flows from central government to local government, and vice versa, are separated into central and local government and recorded as such, but for the government as a whole this expenditure is consolidated. In practice, this refers to government expenditure associated with the production of government services by the government itself, together with subsidies, capital transfers, income transfers and social benefits extended to non-governmental organisations and institutions.⁶⁾ Table 4 in the Appendix to this publication sets out this other expenditure in more detail.
⁷⁾ Please note that general government expenditure includes expenditure by the general government to local government. From the perspective of the general government, this is also expenditure. The expenditure has been compiled from the perspective of the respective level of government.
⁸⁾ Expenditure by the municipalities and provinces relies heavily on the administrative data provided by these levels of government on their culture and media expenditure. Municipalities reported that they spent 1,910 million euros on culture and media in 2018; provinces reported culture and media expenditure of 308 million euros in that year (CBS, StatLine).