Economics of The Arts and Literature - The Artists' Labour Market

The Artists' Labour Market

The labour market for artists is characterized by four things in particular:

  • There is an extremely unequal income distribution within the market segment. A very small group of people earn a high proportion of the total income.
  • There is a structural excess supply of labour. There are always more people who like to earn their income as an artist than there is demand for them.
  • There are intangible returns to labour, so that people accept lower wages than their qualifications would earn in a different market.
  • Non-separation of artist and work. The image their product gives them, is important to artists.

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