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Arts and Happiness

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Advances in Happiness Research

Part of the book series: Creative Economy ((CRE))

Abstract

This chapter discusses public policy considerations in the cultural sector and addresses the problems of measuring the value of art and culture. I consider two possible ways to combine cultural economics with happiness research, to measure potential benefits from culture and the arts. Firstly, I look at the supply side and discuss artists’ labor market choices. I show how the interdisciplinary approach established by modern happiness research enriches the neoclassical rational choice approach with procedural aspects of work. Secondly, I investigate the demand side and discuss how the life satisfaction approach can be used to measure the economic impact of hosting a European Capital of Culture. The effects of arts and culture on life satisfaction, on both the consumption and the production sides, have strong management and policy consequences and are relevant for society as a whole.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For more statistics on the cultural sector, see www.culturalpolicies.net. This website, provided by the council of Europe, gives a detailed overview of the cultural sector for many European countries.

  2. 2.

    Some of the most prominent pioneers of this approach were Simon (1955), Becker (1976), and Sen (1977).

  3. 3.

    A thorough discussion of applications of the public choice approach to the cultural sector can be found in Mazza (2011).

  4. 4.

    See the homepage of the Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung http://bisds.infosys.iab.de, accessed on 15.4.2013.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CREMA – Center for Research in Management, Economics and the Arts, Zurich, Switzerland

    Lasse Steiner

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  1. Lasse Steiner
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Correspondence to Lasse Steiner .

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  1. Faculty of Economics, Doshisha University Faculty of Economics, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

    Toshiaki Tachibanaki

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Steiner, L. (2016). Arts and Happiness. In: Tachibanaki, T. (eds) Advances in Happiness Research. Creative Economy. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55753-1_18

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