Culture and economy - a distinct relationship

“Economists – on the arts? Isn’t this a blasphemy? On the contrary: we believe that economists are able to contribute to a better understanding of many different aspects of both the visual and the performing arts.”

(Bruno Frey & Werner Pommerehne 1990:vii)


Economy and art - for many decades these two fields were considered to be incompatible. But with the genesis of cultural economics the application of economic theories on art became generalizable.
Among others Bruno Frey, a Swiss economist, devoted a great deal of his research work to explorer in what way an economic viewpoint and/or the market can be beneficial to art and what effects different instruments have on the arts and on society in general.

The first part of this book is giving a short overview of the development and characteristics of Cultural Economy and introduces Bruno Frey’s work. Afterwards Frey’s argumentation considering the effects of the market on art is presented and contrasted with other authors in order to proceed to a general critique of the market. Concluding, the book opens up a global perspective, underlining the consequences of an economisation of the arts.