You might want to read "The Economics of Museum Admission Charges"
>by Victoria Dickenson in the September 1993 issue of Curator
>(Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 220-234.  There is also a reply to this article
>by David S. Reed in the December 1993 issue of Curator (Vol. 36, No.
>4., pp. 248-251).


I will be looking up these articles, but meanwhile does anyone have any
comments on the phenomenon that indicates that charging higher admissions
often results in higher attendance (and thus higher revenue)?

My take is that it's a "perceived value" thing:  people want more of what
they think is more valuable, in this case indicated by its price.  The old
"if it's free, who wants it?" routine.  We've seen this happen with a number
of our events and services--increasing the price has increased attendance
and revenue.   Has anybody else had experience with this?

Julia Moore
Indianapolis Art Center