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Democracy and economic outcomes: Evidence from the superstars of modern art

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  • Hellmanzik, Christiane

Abstract

This paper analyses the impact of the political environment on the value of artistic outcomes as measured by the price of paintings produced over the period from 1820 to 2007. The analysis is based on a unique dataset encompassing a global sample of 273 superstars of modern art born between 1800 and 1945, auction results of their paintings, and data on the political environment in the respective production countries. Controlling for a variety of economic and hedonic variables, there is a statistically significant, positive link between the level of democracy and the value of artistic output. Moreover, we find that democracy has a significant positive impact both on the density of superstar painters and the collective artistic human capital in a country.

Suggested Citation

  • Hellmanzik, Christiane, 2013. "Democracy and economic outcomes: Evidence from the superstars of modern art," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 58-69.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:30:y:2013:i:c:p:58-69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2013.01.001
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    1. Sima, Di & Huang, Fali, 2023. "Is democracy good for growth? — Development at political transition time matters," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Modern artists; Democracy; Creativity; Human capital; Economic geography;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • R39 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Other
    • N90 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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