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How Are You, My Dearest Mozart? Well-Being and Creativity of Three Famous Composers Based on Their Letters

Author

Listed:
  • Karol Jan Borowiecki

    (Department of Business and Economics, University of Southern Denmark)

Abstract

The importance of creativity is being increasingly recognized by economists; however, the possibility that emotional factors determine creative processes is largely ignored. Building on 1,400 letters written by three famous music composers, I obtain well-being indices that span their lifetimes. The validity of this methodology is shown by linking the indices with biographical information and through estimation of the determinants of well-being. I then exploit the data and provide quantitative evidence on the existence of a causal impact of negative emotions on outstanding creativity, an association hypothesized across several disciplines since the antiquity that has not yet been convincingly established.

Suggested Citation

  • Karol Jan Borowiecki, 2017. "How Are You, My Dearest Mozart? Well-Being and Creativity of Three Famous Composers Based on Their Letters," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(4), pages 591-605, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:99:y:2017:i:4:p:591-605
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Getik, Demid & Meier, Armando N., 2022. "Peer gender and mental health⁎," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 643-659.
    2. Etro, Federico & Marchesi, Silvia & Stepanova, Elena, 2020. "Liberalizing art. Evidence on the Impressionists at the end of the Paris Salon," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    3. Borowiecki, Karol Jan & Dahl, Christian Møller, 2021. "What makes an artist? The evolution and clustering of creative activity in the US since 1850," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    4. Mahmood, Rafat & Jetter, Michael, 2019. "Military Intervention via Drone Strikes," IZA Discussion Papers 12318, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Karol Jan Borowiecki & Nicholas Martin Ford & Maria Marchenko, 2023. "Harmonious relations: quality transmission among composers in the very long run," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 27(3), pages 454-476.
    6. Getik, Demid & Meier, Armando N., 2020. "Peer Gender and Mental Health," Working papers 2020/15, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    7. Ali Kabiri & Harold James & John Landon-Lane & David Tuckett & Rickard Nyman, 2020. "The Role of Sentiment in the Economy: 1920 to 1934," CESifo Working Paper Series 8336, CESifo.
    8. Kathryn Graddy & Carl Lieberman, 2018. "Death, Bereavement, and Creativity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(10), pages 4505-4514, October.
    9. Ali Kabiri & Harold James & John Landon‐Lane & David Tuckett & Rickard Nyman, 2023. "The role of sentiment in the US economy: 1920 to 1934," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(1), pages 3-30, February.
    10. Juan Lucio & Marco Palomeque, 2023. "Music preferences as an instrument of emotional self-regulation along the business cycle," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(2), pages 181-204, June.
    11. Jürgen Rösch & Maxi-Josephine Rauch, 2025. "‘Do songs tell stories?’ An empirical analysis of the effect of emotional arcs on success in a national song contest," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 49(3), pages 603-637, September.
    12. Christos A. Makridis, 2025. "The labor market returns of being an artist: evidence from the United States, 2006–2021," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 49(1), pages 1-21, March.
    13. Borowiecki, Karol Jan & Kristensen, Martin Hørlyk & Law, Marc T., 2025. "Where are the female composers? Human capital and gender inequality in music history," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    14. Karol Jan Borowiecki & Caterina Adelaide Mauri, 2024. "Originality, influence, and success: a model of creative style," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 48(2), pages 221-258, June.
    15. Etro, Federico, 2018. "The Economics of Renaissance Art," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 78(2), pages 500-538, June.
    16. Annie Tubadji, 2020. "Value-Free Analysis of Values: A Culture-Based Development Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-17, November.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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