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Artists’ Labour Market and Gender: Evidence from German visual artists

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  • Maria Marchenko

    (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business)

  • Hendrik Sonnabend

    (Department of Economics and Business Administration, University of Hagen)

Abstract

Using comprehensive data from German visual artists, we provide strong empirical evidence of a gender gap in revenues. We find that female artists have significantly lower revenues from the art market and are about ten percentage points less likely to remain in the top category over three years. This gap persists in the most prominent art forms and is more pronounced for younger artists. Only 30 to 40 percent of these gaps can be explained by differences in observable characteristics. We also find differences in the networking behaviour of the artists of different genders: females are connecting more, whereas males tend to create tighter links, suggesting the importance of the latter for the art market.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Marchenko & Hendrik Sonnabend, 2020. "Artists’ Labour Market and Gender: Evidence from German visual artists," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp307, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp307
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    Cited by:

    1. Vecco, Marilena & Prieto-Rodriguez, Juan & Teerink, Simone, 2024. "Climbing the ladder? The gender gap in art prices across artists’ cohorts in the Dutch art market," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    2. Karol Jan Borowiecki & Martin Hørlyk Kristensen & Marc T. Law, 2024. "Where are the Female Composers? Evidence on the Extent and Causes of Gender Inequality in Music History," ACEI Working Paper Series AWP-01-2024, Association for Cultural Economics International.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    art market; artists’ earnings; gender gaps;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J4 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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