Research: what 160 years of artistic activity can teach economics

New research published by Economics Professor Karol Jan Borowiecki highlights the importance of including artistic activity in economics analysis. Professor Borowiecki looked at artists in the US across four domains: visual arts, literary arts, performing arts, and music over 160 years to explore how they shape society. He looked at both ‘famous’ artists and, using census data, ‘artists who toiled in obscurity’.   

His study revealed a number of key insights:  Geographic clustering in an area and in an artistic domain; that economic value is influenced by the concentration of artists, not the size of the city; there is a correlation between cities where artists cluster and top Universities; partner and parent status correlates with having a creative career; in terms of discipline/industry, writers tend to be older while musicians are the most racially diverse; and income level is influences a successful artistic career. Publications from this study are available at: https://ideas.repec.org/f/pbo539.html

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