Hobbies, Skills and Incentives to Work: The Happy Gardener and the Wealthy Golfer

Sällström, Susanna

No 6376, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: Two of the earliest inventions of a human capital-intensive technology were for the production of personal internal goods that enabled humans to derive more pleasure out of leisure, namely dance and music. I model the incentives to invent hobbies and to acquire hobby skills, and its implications for the incentives to work and to acquire professional skills. This model explains the economic origins of culture. It was no accident that the intricate steps of tango emerged in the shabby quarters of Buenos Aires, and that the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews was the initiative of 22 noble and gentlemen of Fife.

Keywords: Leisure; Culture; Education; Hobbies; Human capital; Welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 J22 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cul, nep-edu, nep-hap, nep-his and nep-hrm
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