Economic Conditions In The Performing Arts

The financial problems of live professional performing arts; the implications of these problems for the future of the performing arts in the Unites States; the alternatives facing the arts, their costs and the burdens they require society to shoulder.

The role and future of the arts is the subject of widespread discussion in the media, in government, at conferences and at public enquiries. In the Economics of the performing Arts David Throsby and Glenn Withers provide an authoritative examination of the role of economics in understanding the performing arts and upon arts organisations, their audiences and their patrons. The nature of public support is exstensively reveiwed and the book draws upon the experience of all the major Anglo-American countries. By combining relevance with a rigorous academic scrutiny, the book makes an important contribution to informed debate on the economic underpinnings of artistic activity.

The economics of the arts in a relatively new subject, with a small but steadily growing literature. It has emerged in recent years out of the eagerness of economists to apply their tools to hitherto untried areas and the recognition by arts administrators of the economic pressures on the arts. This study covers the great range of economic problems affecting drama, concerts, opera, ballet, museums and galleries. The opening section discusses the economic rationale for public subsidies to the arts, and is followed by a group of readings attempting to grapple with questions of criteria for allocation of public expenditure. The final section is made up of six readings on particular problem areas, including museum and gallery charges, the system of export licences for works of art, and the performing arts considered as a personal investment by dancers and singers. These contributions represent the finest work that has been done by economists on the subject and should be of interest not only to students and teachers of economics but also to the general public.