The Economic History of the Arts
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Economic history of the arts is the academic study of the consumption, creation, and distribution of creative goods and services throughout history. Particularly, the field is to be considered an intersection between economic history and cultural economics (also called the economics of the arts and literature). But it is inclusive to many approaches from the digital humanities.
Introduction
The economic history of the arts covers both "high culture" - like opera, classical music, and ballet - and more widespread popular culture such as popular music, movies, newspapers, and video games. Scholars in this field apply quantitative and economic approaches to the study of art history and often focus on art markets, art creation, art dealing, and art collecting. More broadly seen, it is a field that encompasses the cultural heritage. C. H. Douglas was one of the first economists to recognize the economic value of cultural heritage and considered it as the primary factor of production.
The field has gained significant attention with a special issue on the economics of art history at the Journal of Cultural Economics which is edited by innovation economist David Galenson and a special issue on the economic history of the arts at the European Review of Economic History.[1]
Areas of research
Among other areas, the economic history of the arts includes research on the history of art markets, the production and consumption of art in a historical perspective, and the role of creativity throughout history.
Art markets
A notable characteristic of the art market is the fact that value is subjective. The value, particularly in the market for performing arts, depends both on expert judgment and the audience reception of the work, which may also change over time. The works of Vincent van Gogh constitute an example of significant changes in valuation over time. During his lifetime, van Gogh did not experience commercial success; however, following his death, the public came to understand the quality of his works and today his paintings are among the most valuable works in the world.[2]
Agglomeration effects
Empirical evidence from economic historians of the arts suggests that artists tend to cluster in particular cities. For instance, composers tend to cluster in Paris while visual artists have traditionally clustered in New York City. Scholars explain these clustering patterns by economies of agglomeration and peer effects, which suggests that artists tend to cluster because they experience a significant increase in creativity by being in the presence of other artists.[3] Additionally, economic historians of the arts have found that factors that can foster both creative clusters and cultural innovation include market demand for innovation, intellectual property protection, and political competition for creative talent.
The role of creativity in history
Historically, creativity is a trait that is rarely observed systematically in the economy. One of the rare exceptions is art and culture, where creativity has always been an important factor of production.
Scholars have hypothesized that there exists a link between creativity and biological factors such as emotional state. Analyzing letters sent by famous composers, economic historians of the arts have established that there exists a correlation between negative emotions and creative output. Scholars of the economic history of arts have also explored the relationship between clustering, well-being, and creativity and found that geographic clustering has positive effects on creative output, but adverse effects on emotional well-being, which is provoked by the enhanced competition in creative clusters.[2]
Economic historians of the arts have also investigated the role of intellectual property rights throughout history. Findings of these scholars indicate that implementation of intellectual property rights, such as copyrights and patent protection, helps in increasing both the quantity and quality of artistic output. This is explained by the fact that copyrights give the greater composing effort necessary to produce high-quality work.[2]
References
- ↑ "Call for Papers: Special Issue on "The Economics of Art History"". Journal of Cultural Economics.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Diebolt, Claude; Haupert, Michael (2019). Handbook of Cliometrics (2 ed.). Springer Nature Switzerland. Search this book on
- ↑ Towse, Ruth; Hernández, Trilce Navarrete (2020). Handbook of Cultural Economics (3 ed.). Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978 1 78897 579 7. Search this book on
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