The Economics of the Artist's Labour Markets.

The purpose of this paper is to summarise the data from recent surveys of artists of various kinds in the UK - performing and creative artists and craftspeople - and to analyse the way that artists' labour markets work. Topics covered include a discussion of the problems of defining artists, the supply behaviour of artists' earnings and training issues. The conclusions are that survey results show consistency as between different sectors of the arts labour market. Artists work long hours, are highly trained but typically earn less than other comparably educated workers; training does not seem to perform a screening function nor a human capital one in the arts.