Artists in the New England Labor Market (1980-1982)

Other Studies of Multiple Artist Populations

Investigators: Gregory Wassall, Neil Alper and Rebecca Davison

Population: Artists (All major disciplines as identified by organizations providing population from which the sample was drawn, with the exception of "peripheral" artists such as architects, announcers, or acrobats)

Identification method: Names of artists in six U.S. states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) were obtained for sampling through a variety of techniques: lists provided by local, regional and national organizations, alumni lists from major New England arts training institutions, and library resources including artist directories. A primary source was a computerized mailing list provided by the New England Foundation for the Arts, prepared with the assistance of the New England states art commissions and councils.

Sampling procedure: Various sampling procedures by state and artist disciplines from various lists.

N and Response rate: 17 percent (3,027 of 17,483)

Publications: Wassall, G., et al. 1983. Art Work: Artists in the New England Labor Market. Cambridge, MA: The New England Foundation for the Arts.

Wassall, G. and N. Alper. 1984. "Determinants of Artists’ Earnings" in Hendon et al., The Economics of Cultural Industries. Akron, Ohio: Association for Cultural Economics.

Wassall, G. and N. Alper. 1985. "Occupational Characteristics of Artists: A Statistical Analysis." Journal of Cultural Economics, 9(1): 13-34.

Wassall, G. and N. Alper. 1992. "Toward A Unified Theory of the Determinants of the Earnings of Artists" in R. Towse and A. Khakee (eds.), Cultural Economics, 187-200. Berlin: Springer.

Summary: Comprehensive regional study of the labor-market experiences of individual artists.