Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture

Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture

by Victor A. Ginsburgh, David Throsby
Released September 2013
Publisher(s): North Holland
ISBN: 9780444537775

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Book description

This volume emphasizes the economic aspects of art and culture, a relatively new field that poses inherent problems for economics, with its quantitative concepts and tools. Building bridges across disciplines such as management, art history, art philosophy, sociology, and law, editors Victor Ginsburgh and David Throsby assemble chapters that yield new perspectives on the supply and demand for artistic services, the contribution of the arts sector to the economy, and the roles that public policies play. With its focus on culture rather than the arts, Ginsburgh and Throsby bring new clarity and definition to this rapidly growing area.



  • Presents coherent summaries of major research in art and culture, a field that is inherently difficult to characterize with finance tools and concepts
  • Offers a rigorous description that avoids common problems associated with art and culture scholarship
  • Makes details about the economics of art and culture accessible to scholars in fields outside economics

Table of contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Introduction to the Series
  5. Copyright
  6. Contributors
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview
    1. 1.1 Introduction
    2. 1.2 Value and Evaluation in Art and Culture
    3. 1.3 Demand, Consumption, and Investment
    4. 1.4 Innovation and Technological Change
    5. 1.5 Trade, Development, and Cultural Diversity
    6. 1.6 Broader Cultural Issues
    7. 1.7 Conclusion
    8. References
  9. PART I: Value and evaluation in art and culture
    1. Chapter 2. Creative Genius in Literature, Music, and the Visual Arts
      1. Abstract
      2. 2.1 Introduction
      3. 2.2 Achieved Eminence
      4. 2.3 Individual Attributes
      5. 2.4 Lifespan Development
      6. 2.5 Social Processes
      7. 2.6 Conclusion
      8. References
    2. Chapter 3. Contemporary Experimental Aesthetics: Procedures and Findings
      1. Abstract
      2. 3.1 Introduction
      3. 3.2 An Artwork as Stimulus
      4. 3.3 Processes Underlying an Aesthetic Experience with Visual Art
      5. 3.4 The Viewer’s Contribution to an Aesthetic Experience
      6. 3.5 The Art Museum as Laboratory
      7. 3.6 Conclusion
      8. References
    3. Chapter 4. The Economic and Cultural Value of Paintings: Some Empirical Evidence
      1. Abstract
      2. 4.1 Introduction
      3. 4.2 Hypotheses
      4. 4.3 Data and Method
      5. 4.4 Results
      6. 4.5 Conclusion
      7. Acknowledgments
      8. References
    4. Chapter 5. Values of Music
      1. Abstract
      2. 5.1 Introduction
      3. 5.2 Preliminary Distinctions
      4. 5.3 Music’s Value for Listener, Performer, And Composer
      5. 5.4 Manners of Musical Value
      6. 5.5 The Centrality of Music in Human Life
      7. 5.6 The Artistic Value of Music
      8. 5.7 Music’s Extra-Artistic Value
      9. 5.8 Music’s Aesthetic Value
      10. 5.9 Music’s Symbolic Value
      11. 5.10 Music’s Self-Affirmation Value
      12. 5.11 Music’s Social Value
      13. 5.12 Music’s Idiosyncratic Value
      14. 5.13 Music’s Mood-Enhancement Value
      15. 5.14 Music’s Accompaniment Value
      16. Appendix
      17. References
    5. Chapter 6. The Economics of Cultural Awards
      1. Abstract
      2. 6.1 Introduction
      3. 6.2 Prizes and Commerce
      4. 6.3 Prizes and Prestige
      5. 6.4 Conclusion
      6. References
    6. Chapter 7. The Use of Stated Preference Methods to Value Cultural Heritage
      1. Abstract
      2. 7.1 Introduction
      3. 7.2 Contingent Valuation Methods
      4. 7.3 Choice Experiments
      5. 7.4 Discrete Choice Experiment Models
      6. 7.5 Estimating Price from Choice Experiments
      7. 7.6 Enhancing Choice Experiment Models
      8. 7.7 Conclusions
      9. References
  10. PART II: Demand, consumption and investment
    1. Chapter 8. Bestsellers and Blockbusters: Movies, Music, and Books
      1. Abstract
      2. 8.1 Introduction
      3. 8.2 Conceptual Models: Bestsellers and Blockbusters
      4. 8.3 Empirical Models: Bestsellers and Blockbusters
      5. 8.4 A Selective Survey of Empirical Findings
      6. 8.5 Conclusions: Some Interesting Issues for Further Research
      7. References
    2. Chapter 9. New Technologies and Cultural Consumption
      1. Abstract
      2. 9.1 Introduction
      3. 9.2 New Technology Changes Relative Price
      4. 9.3 New Technology Increases Variety
      5. 9.4 New Technology Induces New Preferences
      6. 9.5 Conclusion
      7. References
    3. Chapter 10. Investment in Visual Art: Evidence from International Transactions
      1. Abstract
      2. 10.1 Introduction
      3. 10.2 Testable Implications of International Art Sales
      4. 10.3 Real Exports of Paintings, Prints, and Sculptures
      5. 10.4 The Correlation Between Exports of Artworks, Consumer Goods, and Capital Goods
      6. 10.5 Art Trade and Permanent Income
      7. 10.6 Concluding Remarks
      8. Acknowledgments
      9. Appendix
      10. References
  11. PART III: Innovation and technological change
    1. Chapter 11. Cultural Innovation by Cultural Organizations
      1. Abstract
      2. 11.1 Introduction
      3. 11.2 The Determinants of Cultural Innovation by Cultural Organizations
      4. 11.3 Conclusion: Summary and Future Research
      5. References
    2. Chapter 12. Digitization, Copyright, and the Flow of New Music Products
      1. Abstract
      2. 12.1 Introduction
      3. 12.2 Framework
      4. 12.3 Effects on Demand and Their Documentation
      5. 12.4 Revenue Reduction and Cost Reduction
      6. 12.5 Quantity Evidence
      7. 12.6 Direct Quantity Evidence on the Service Flow of New Products
      8. 12.7 Explaining Increased Quality
      9. 12.8 Conclusion
      10. References
    3. Chapter 13. The Pricing of Art and the Art of Pricing: Pricing Styles in the Concert Industry
      1. Abstract
      2. 13.1 Introduction
      3. 13.2 The Live Event Industry: Facts, Literature Review, and Open Questions
      4. 13.3 Data and Summary Statistics
      5. 13.4 Price Discrimination: Measurement Issues
      6. 13.5 Price Discrimination at the Concert Level
      7. 13.6 Price Discrimination at the Artist Level
      8. 13.7 Identifying Artists’ Pricing Styles
      9. 13.8 Candidate Explanation for the Use of Price Discrimination
      10. 13.9 Exploitation of Market Power
      11. 13.10 Discussion
      12. 13.11 Overview and Future Research
      13. Acknowledgments
      14. References
    4. Chapter 14. Media Ownership: Diversity Versus Efficiency in a Changing Technological Environment
      1. Abstract
      2. 14.1 Introduction
      3. 14.2 The Effects of Changing Technology
      4. 14.3 Concentrated Ownership and Economic Performance
      5. 14.4 Sociocultural Implications of Media Ownership
      6. 14.5 Media Ownership and Public Policy
      7. 14.6 Conclusions
      8. References
  12. PART IV: Trade, development, and cultural diversity
    1. Chapter 15. Cultural Products in the International Trading System
      1. Abstract
      2. 15.1 Introduction
      3. 15.2 The Debate on Trade and Culture
      4. 15.3 International Trade in Cultural Goods and Services: a Survey of Theoretical Models and Empirical Studies
      5. 15.4 Should the Cultural Sector be Protected From International Integration? Normative Issues at the National Level
      6. 15.5 The Global Governance of Cultural Policies: Normative Issues at the International Level
      7. 15.6 Conclusions and Suggestions for Future Research
      8. Acknowledgments
      9. References
    2. Chapter 16. Cultural Diversity, Copyright, and International Trade
      1. Abstract
      2. 16.1 Introduction
      3. 16.2 Cultural Diversity as a Concept in International Law?
      4. 16.3 The Concept of ‘Culture’
      5. 16.4 Copyright and Culture
      6. 16.5 Copyright as Part of the Trips Agreement
      7. 16.6 The Rest of the WTO
      8. 16.7 The Rights Clash?
      9. References
    3. Chapter 17. Trade and Cultural Diversity
      1. Abstract
      2. 17.1 Introduction
      3. 17.2 Theoretical Perspectives on International Trade and Cultural Diversity
      4. 17.3 Dynamic Cultural Transmission Models
      5. 17.4 Cultural Transmission and Competitive Economic Exchange
      6. 17.5 Factor Endowments, Trade, and Cultural Convergence
      7. 17.6 Group Consumption Externalities and Cultural Divergence
      8. 17.7 Increasing Returns, Market size effects, and Cultural Dynamics
      9. 17.8 Conclusions
      10. References
    4. Chapter 18. Cultural Diversity, Conflict, and Economic Development
      1. Abstract
      2. 18.1 Introduction
      3. 18.2 Measuring Ethnic Heterogeneity
      4. 18.3 Ethnic Diversity and Economic Outcomes
      5. 18.4 Heterogeneity and Conflict
      6. 18.5 Conclusions
      7. Acknowledgments
      8. References
    5. Chapter 19. Culture, Linguistic Diversity, and Economics
      1. Abstract
      2. 19.1 Introduction
      3. 19.2 Linguistic Diversity and Fractionalization
      4. 19.3 Standardization
      5. 19.4 Disenfranchisement
      6. 19.5 Concluding Remarks
      7. Acknowledgments
      8. References
  13. PART V: Broader cultural issues
    1. Chapter 20. National Culture as Value Orientations: Consequences of Value Differences and Cultural Distance
      1. Abstract
      2. 20.1 Cultural Value Orientations to Characterize Societies
      3. 20.2 Mapping Cultural Differences Around the World
      4. 20.3 Comparison with the Hofstede and Inglehart Dimensions
      5. 20.4 Cultural Value Orientations and Economically Significant Variables
      6. 20.5 Conclusions
      7. Acknowledgments
      8. Appendix
      9. References
    2. Chapter 21. Religion, Culture, and Development
      1. Abstract
      2. 21.1 Introduction
      3. 21.2 The Effect of Religion on Individual Behavior
      4. 21.3 The Role of Religion as a Response to Market or State Imperfections
      5. 21.4 Market Structure Models: The Effect of Competition on Religion
      6. 21.5 The State as a Strategic Actor: A Political Economics Approach
      7. 21.6 Conclusion
      8. References
    3. Chapter 22. Strategic Interactions Between Modern Law and Custom
      1. Abstract
      2. 22.1 Introduction
      3. 22.2 The Effect of Legal Reform on Customary Practices: An Overview of Economic Theories
      4. 22.3 Radical or Moderate Legal Reforms?
      5. 22.4 Two Insightful Case Studies
      6. 22.5 Conclusion
      7. References
  14. Index

Product information

  • Title: Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture
  • Author(s): Victor A. Ginsburgh, David Throsby
  • Release date: September 2013
  • Publisher(s): North Holland
  • ISBN: 9780444537775