Arts & Economics: Analysis & Cultural Policy

Frey, Bruno S.

ISBN 10: 3540002731 / ISBN 13: 9783540002734

Published by Springer, 2003

The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR005363800

Synopsis:

To put the ARTS & ECONOMICS next to each other, as in the title to this book, may be shocking to some readers. Must not creative art be free of economic constraints, must it not lead a life of its own? And is economics not the realm of mean commercial dealings? This book argues that it is not so: the ARTS & ECONOMICS go well together, indeed need each other. Without a sound economic base, art cannot exist, and without creativity the economy cannot flourish. There is a second way in which the Arts and Economics go together, namely in the sense of applying economic thinking to the arts. Over the last decades, this scholarly endeavor has been established under the name of "The Economics of Art" or "Cultural Economics". But this may also sound revolting to some readers as it suggests an imperialistic extension of a lowly benefit-cost calculus to the world of art. This fear is unwarranted. On the contrary, cultural economists stress the social value of art and defend it against a crude business view of art. Rather than dismissing art without direct commercial profit, art economists seek ways and means of supporting it. This book is not a textbook summarizing the achievements attained by the economics of art. Such books already exist, among them the author's own, Muses and Markets, Explorations in the Economics of Art, written jointly with Werner Pommerehne. VI Preface ARTS & ECONOMICS charters little known territories.

Synopsis: Using the economic point of view for an analysis of phenomena related to artistic activities, Arts & Economics not only challenges widely held popular views, but also offers an alternative perspective to sociological or art historic approaches.The wide range of subjects presented are of current interest and, above all, relevant for cultural policy. The issues discussed include: institutions from festivals to "superstar" museums, different means of supporting the arts, including the question whether artistic creativity is undermined by public intervention, an investigation into art as an investment, the various approaches applied when valuing our cultural properties, or why, in a comparative perspective, direct voter participation in cultural policy is not antagonistic to artistic values.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Arts & Economics: Analysis & Cultural Policy
Publisher: Springer
Publication Date: 2003
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Very Good
Edition: 2nd Edition