The labor market returns of being an artist: evidence from the United States, 2006–2021

Christos A. Makridis ()
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Christos A. Makridis: Columbia University

Journal of Cultural Economics, 2025, vol. 49, issue 1, No 1, 21 pages

Abstract: Abstract Using individual-level data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) between 2006 and 2021, I study the labor market experiences of artists. First, I find a decline in the relative earnings of artists to non-artists from zero to a 15% disadvantage. After controlling for demographic differences, the decline is sharper, declining from a 15% earnings disadvantage to 30%. That the inclusion of demographic controls raises the earnings gap suggests there is positive selection into the arts. Second, these differences decline in magnitude to 4.4%, but remain statistically significant, after exploiting variation among artists and non-artists in the same industry-year and major occupation. Third, when restricting the set of individuals to those with at least a college degree, those with a fine arts degree also incur an earnings and employment penalty even if they work in the arts. These results highlight the increasing financial precariousness of artists over the past decade.

Keywords: Artists; Culture; Earnings; Employment; Wages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J21 J23 J31 J38 J44 Z11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10824-023-09490-x

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