Course Description:

This course seeks to apply economic analysis to issues arising in the arts. Two major kinds of art issues are covered.

The first is the importance of economic factors in the historical development of the arts. The thesis of this aspect of the course is that the method of financing the arts affects not only the financial well being and status of artists, but also the nature of art itself. The market system, government support and patronage are discussed in this context.

The set of art issues center on the problems of arts management within a market system. Decisions about pricing, input utilization, marketing, market integration, and government policy are touched upon. The complementary/competitiveness of high arts and popular arts are considered in this context. Attention is given to the special problems of funding and of balancing or identifying objectives for efficient management of not-for-profit arts institutions. The thesis of this second aspect of the course is that traditional economic and management theory must be modified to account for unique aspects of the arts.

The objectives of this class are to develop sufficient understanding of the economics of the arts by students to complete the following tasks:

• recognize economic principles as applied to the arts;
• explain major issues in the economics of the arts;
• critically evaluate the appropriateness of applications of economic theory to the arts in the works of others;
• read journal articles in the field and understand both the conclusion(s) and the general nature of how they were obtained sufficiently to explain them to others;
• apply economic theory to new problems/situations in the arts;
• and gain a new appreciation of the broad applicability of economic theory to everyday life.

Prerequisite: Econ 100

Grades determined two hourly exams, reports on specific journal articles, and a final project.