I use panel data on music and visual arts consumption from wave 2 and wave 5 of Understanding Society to investigate how the cultural consumption pattern of individuals changes over time.  The latent class solution of the data from the two waves are very similar, suggesting a broad stability in the overall pattern of cultural consumption.  But there is considerable turnover at the individual level.  Just under one third of the respondents are found in a different latent class over three years.  Considered in the cross-section, the determinants of latent class membership are again very similar in the two waves, and they are consistent with previous research in the field.  For example, I find strong educational and social status gradients in cultural consumption.  But the predictors of change in cultural consumption are quite different to those found in cross-sectional analyses.  Viewed longitudinally, gaining educational qualifications is associated with less cultural consumption, and change in social status (through changing occupations) is generally not associated with change in cultural consumption.  Rather, it is life course factors that are more strongly associated with change in cultural consumption of individuals.  For example, having more young children (aged 0–4) is associated with less cultural consumption.

About the speaker:

Tak Wing Chan is a Professor of Quantitative Social Science at University College London.  His main research interests include social inequality and mobility, sociology of culture, and family and the life course.  He is the principal investigator of the ESRC-funded project: Hong Kong BN(O) Migrants Panel Survey.

Departmental Seminar – The Dynamics of Change in Cultural Consumption in the UK

Date: November 30, 2023

Time: 1:00PM – 2:00PM

Venue: CJT-9.29

Speaker: Prof. Tak Wing Chan

Registration: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?ueid=91403