The Gramppian Hills: an empirical test for rent-seeking behaviour in the arts

Abstract

To remind cultural policy practitioners that rent-seeking theory exists (in recently published cultural economics reference books the theory is hardly mentioned), and to encourage theoreticians further to develop their models of personal and institutional behaviour predicting and explaining it, this article suggests a simple graphical test for rent-seeking behaviour in the non-profit art world. The author hopes to reinvigorate debate about arts rent seeking and about its good and ill effects, about possible diagnostic techniques and about possible control measures