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Harmonious Relations: Quality transmission among composers in the very long run

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Marchenko

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

  • Karol Jan Borowiecki

    (Department of Economics, University of Southern Denmark)

  • Nicholas Martin Ford

    (Department of Economic History, Lund University)

Abstract

Most creatives acquire professional talents by learning from others, but in most settings it is difficult to estimate the existence of long-term effects. This paper explores the transmission of skills over a period of more than seven centuries by focusing on the case of music composers. We ask the question: how does a composer’s quality influence the quality of the composers he or she teaches? Our analysis builds on a unique dataset of 17,433 composers from around the world since the fourteenth century. By comparing actual teacher–student pairs with plausible counterfactual pairs and by using a two-stage framework, we show a strong effect of quality transmission. Moreover, we find quality transmission persists across multiple generations: from teacher to student, and subsequently to student’s student and so on. Our results provide new insights on drivers of creativity over the very long term, as well as the influence of teachers on students' achievements.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Marchenko & Karol Jan Borowiecki & Nicholas Martin Ford, 2022. "Harmonious Relations: Quality transmission among composers in the very long run," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp321, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp321
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    creativity; transmission of ideas; music history; teacher influence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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