Agglomeration and the success of arts majors working in entrepreneurship and innovation

Richard J. Paulsen, Gregory Wassall and Neil Alper

Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 2025, vol. 34, issue 5, 769-781

Abstract: In this study we look to understand whether living or working in a ‘hub’ increases the likelihood that college graduates with degrees in the arts are working in entrepreneurial occupations or innovative industries, and whether it increases their success in such occupations/industries. While the share of arts graduates working in the arts is low, recent empirical evidence suggests that large shares of arts graduates are working in occupations/industries that can be classified as entrepreneurial or innovative, potentially because of their creative education/training. However, little is known about where such works takes place, so we explore whether proximity to other creatives and/or entrepreneurial/innovative workers has an influence. The theory underpinning our work is the economics of agglomeration, as ample research on artists suggests that creatives benefit from proximity to other creatives. The popularity of Silicon Valley as a home for start-ups and tech firms suggests agglomeration is important in entrepreneurship and innovation as well. Using American Community Survey data, we find that living or working in a ‘hub’ has positive impacts on the likelihood arts graduates are working in occupations/industries that are entrepreneurial/innovative and on earnings in such areas, suggesting that agglomeration may have positive impacts on productivity.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/10438599.2024.2368142 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:ecinnt:v:34:y:2025:i:5:p:769-781

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/GEIN20

DOI: 10.1080/10438599.2024.2368142

Access Statistics for this article

Economics of Innovation and New Technology is currently edited by Professor Cristiano Antonelli

More articles in Economics of Innovation and New Technology from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().