IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jculte/v37y2013i2p225-246.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The happy artist: an empirical application of the work-preference model

Author

Listed:
  • Lasse Steiner
  • Lucian Schneider

Abstract

The artistic labor market is marked by several adversities, such as low wages, above-average unemployment, and constrained underemployment. Nevertheless, it attracts many young people. The number of students exceeds the available jobs by far. A potential explanation for this puzzle is that artistic work might result in exceptionally high job satisfaction, a conjecture that has been mentioned at various times in the literature. We conduct the first direct empirical investigation into artists’ job satisfaction. The analysis is based on panel data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Survey. Artists on average are found to be considerably more satisfied with their work than non-artists, a finding that corroborates the conjectures in the literature. Differences in income, working hours, and personality cannot account for the observed difference in job satisfaction. Partially, but not fully, the higher job satisfaction can be attributed to the higher self-employment rate among artists. Suggestive evidence is found that superior “procedural” characteristics of artistic work, such as increased variety and on-the-job learning, contribute to the difference in job satisfaction. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Lasse Steiner & Lucian Schneider, 2013. "The happy artist: an empirical application of the work-preference model," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 37(2), pages 225-246, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:37:y:2013:i:2:p:225-246
    DOI: 10.1007/s10824-012-9179-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10824-012-9179-1
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10824-012-9179-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2001. "The Changing Distribution of Job Satisfaction," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(1), pages 1-30.
    2. Adler, Moshe, 1985. "Stardom and Talent," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(1), pages 208-212, March.
    3. Matthias Benz & Bruno S. Frey, 2008. "Being Independent is a Great Thing: Subjective Evaluations of Self‐Employment and Hierarchy," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 75(298), pages 362-383, May.
    4. Maurizio Pugno, 2004. "Rationality and affective motivation: new ideas from neurobiology and psychiatry for economic theory," Department of Economics Working Papers 0401B, Department of Economics, University of Trento, Italia.
    5. Tyler Cowen & Alexander Tabarrok, 2000. "An Economic Theory of Avant-Garde and Popular Art, or High and Low Culture," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 67(2), pages 232-253, July.
    6. Thurow, Lester C, 1978. "Psychic Income: Useful or Useless?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(2), pages 142-145, May.
    7. Kristensen, Nicolai & Johansson, Edvard, 2008. "New evidence on cross-country differences in job satisfaction using anchoring vignettes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 96-117, February.
    8. Sendhil Mullainathan & Marianne Bertrand, 2001. "Do People Mean What They Say? Implications for Subjective Survey Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 67-72, May.
    9. Withers, Glenn, 1985. "Artists' Subsidy of the Arts," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(45), pages 290-295, December.
    10. Rosen, Sherwin, 1981. "The Economics of Superstars," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(5), pages 845-858, December.
    11. Gert G. Wagner & Joachim R. Frick & Jürgen Schupp, 2007. "The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) – Scope, Evolution and Enhancements," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 127(1), pages 139-169.
    12. Andrew E. Clark, 1998. "Measures of Job Satisfaction: What Makes a Good Job? Evidence from OECD Countries," OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers 34, OECD Publishing.
    13. Anna Cristina D'Addio & Tor Eriksson & Paul Frijters, 2007. "An analysis of the determinants of job satisfaction when individuals' baseline satisfaction levels may differ," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(19), pages 2413-2423.
    14. Abbing, Hans, 2002. "Why Are Artists Poor?," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9789053565650.
    15. Clark, Andrew E., 2001. "What really matters in a job? Hedonic measurement using quit data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 223-242, May.
    16. J.J. Ehrhardt & W.E. Saris & R. Veenhoven, 2000. "Stability of Life-satisfaction over Time," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 177-205, June.
    17. Adler, Moshe, 2006. "Stardom and Talent," Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, in: V.A. Ginsburgh & D. Throsby (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 25, pages 895-906, Elsevier.
    18. Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Paul Frijters, 2004. "How Important is Methodology for the estimates of the determinants of Happiness?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(497), pages 641-659, July.
    19. Rafael Di Tella & Robert MacCulloch, 2006. "Some Uses of Happiness Data in Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, Winter.
    20. van Praag, Bernard M. S., 1991. "Ordinal and cardinal utility : An integration of the two dimensions of the welfare concept," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1-2), pages 69-89, October.
    21. Bruno S. Frey, 2008. "Happiness: A Revolution in Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262062771, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Jianbo Jeff Luo, 2022. "Is Work a Burden? The Role of the Living Standard," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 61-77, August.
    3. Alexander Cuntz, 2018. "Creators’ Income Situation in the Digital Age," LIS Working papers 755, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    4. Jonas Silva Henrique & Ana Flávia Machado & Mariangela Furlan Antigo, 2023. "Work satisfaction and job permanence in artistic careers: the case of musicians in Belo Horizonte, Brazil," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(4), pages 693-718, December.
    5. Alexander Cuntz & Angie L. Miller, 2018. "Unpacking predictors of income and income satisfaction for artists," WIPO Economic Research Working Papers 50, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division.
    6. Beate Elstad & Erik Døving & Dag Jansson, 2022. "Precariousness during an ongoing crisis. Cultural workers and the corona pandemic," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 466-483, September.
    7. Richard J. Paulsen, 2022. "Arts majors and the Great Recession: a cross-sectional analysis of educational choices and employment outcomes," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 46(4), pages 635-658, December.
    8. Bille, Trine & Fjællegaard, Cecilie Bryld & Frey, Bruno S. & Steiner, Lasse, 2013. "Happiness in the arts—International evidence on artists’ job satisfaction," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 15-18.
    9. Thomas Longden & David Throsby, 2021. "Non‐Pecuniary Rewards, Multiple Job‐Holding and the Labour Supply of Creative Workers: The Case of Book Authors," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 97(316), pages 24-44, March.
    10. Ana Machado & Alexandre Rabelo & Arthur Moreira, 2014. "Specificities of the artistic cultural labor market in Brazilian metropolitan regions between 2002 and 2010," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 38(3), pages 237-251, August.
    11. Telma Barrantes-Fernández & Esteban Cruz-Hidalgo & José Francisco Rangel-Preciado & Francisco Manuel Parejo-Moruno, 2023. "Decommodify the 2030 Agenda: Why and How to Finance What Is Not Profitable?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-16, February.
    12. Trine Bille & Knut Løyland & Anders Holm, 2017. "Work for Passion or Money? Variations in Artists’ Labor Supply," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 347-380, August.
    13. Joanna Woronkowicz & Aparna Soni & Seth Freedman & Kosali Simon, 2020. "How have recent health insurance expansions affected coverage among artist occupations in the USA?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 44(1), pages 117-154, March.
    14. Trine Bille & Søren Jensen, 2018. "Artistic education matters: survival in the arts occupations," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 42(1), pages 23-43, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lasse Steiner & Lucian Schneider, 2012. "The Happy Artist?: An Empirical Application of the Work-Preference Model," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 430, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    2. Lasse Steiner & Lucian Schneider, 2011. "The happy artist? An empirical application of the work-preference model," ECON - Working Papers 037, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    3. Adrian Chadi & Clemens Hetschko, 2021. "How Job Changes Affect People's Lives — Evidence from Subjective Well‐Being Data," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 279-306, June.
    4. Stavros A. Drakopoulos, 2020. "Pay Level Comparisons in Job Satisfaction Research and Mainstream Economic Methodology," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 825-842, March.
    5. Andrew E. Clark & Paul Frijters & Michael A. Shields, 2006. "Income and happiness: Evidence, explanations and economic implications," PSE Working Papers halshs-00590436, HAL.
    6. Henna Busk & Christine Dauth & Elke J. Jahn, 2017. "Do Changes in Regulation Affect Temporary Agency Workers’ Job Satisfaction?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 514-544, July.
    7. Johansson, Edvard, 2004. "Job Satisfaction in Finland - Some results from the European Community Household Panel 1996-2001," Discussion Papers 958, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    8. Cortés Aguilar Alexandra & Teresa Garcia-Muñoz & Ana I. Moro Egido, 2013. "Heterogeneous Self-employment and Subjective Well-Being. Evidence from Latin America," ThE Papers 13/05, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    9. Aguilar, Alexandra Cortés & García Muñoz, Teresa M. & Moro-Egido, Ana I., 2013. "Heterogeneous self-employment and satisfaction in Latin America," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 44-61.
    10. René Petilliot, 2016. "How Important is the Type of Working Contract for Job Satisfaction of Agency Workers?," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 832, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    11. Antje Mertens & Miriam Beblo, 2016. "Self-Reported Satisfaction and the Economic Crisis of 2007–2010: Or How People in the UK and Germany Perceive a Severe Cyclical Downturn," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 537-565, January.
    12. Petilliot, René, 2016. "How important is the type of working contract for job satisfaction of agency workers?," FZG Discussion Papers 61, University of Freiburg, Research Center for Generational Contracts (FZG).
    13. Hajdu, Tamás & Hajdu, Gábor, 2011. "A hasznosság és a relatív jövedelem kapcsolatának vizsgálata magyar adatok segítségével [Examining the relation of utility and relative income using Hungarian data]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 56-73.
    14. Martin Binder & Felix Ward, 2011. "The Structure of Happiness: A Vector Autoregressive Approach," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2011-08, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    15. Michela Ponzo, 2012. "On-the-job Search in Italian Labor Markets: An Empirical Analysis," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 213-232, July.
    16. Adrian Chadi & Clemens Hetschko, 2018. "The magic of the new: How job changes affect job satisfaction," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 23-39, March.
    17. Diriwaechter, Patric & Shvartsman, Elena, 2018. "The anticipation and adaptation effects of intra- and interpersonal wage changes on job satisfaction," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 116-140.
    18. Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell, 2013. "Happiness economics," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 35-60, March.
    19. René Petilliot, 2018. "How important is the type of working contract for job satisfaction of agency workers?," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 65(3), pages 359-379, September.
    20. Stutzer, Alois & Frey, Bruno S., 2012. "Recent Developments in the Economics of Happiness: A Selective Overview," IZA Discussion Papers 7078, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Job satisfaction; Artists; Work-preference; Cultural economics; Z10; J24; J28; J31;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:37:y:2013:i:2:p:225-246. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.