Occupational characteristics of artists: A statistical analysis

Abstract

Labor market studies of occupational groups are common in the labor economics literature. Usually, the researcher faces no problem in identifying people who belong to a particular occupational group. In using U.S. Census or Bureau of Labor Statistics data, one finds that occupational categories are already established. In conducting one's own survey, either the occupation of survey respondents is known in advance, or it can be readily obtained via an appropriate question on the survey instrument. When conducting a labor market study of artists, however, several difficulties are encountered. One difficulty involves the use of Census data. First, the occupations that the Census categorizes as "artists" do not correspond to those used by researchers in the field.(1) A second difficulty, indicated in our research (Wassall, et al. 1983) and that of others (Kingston, et ai. 1981; Ruttenberg, et ai. 1978), lies in the fact that artists typically hold other jobs while working as artists. Although the reasons for holding other jobs are diverse, many artists who hold them find they spend more time and earn more money at them. However, the Census questionnaire asks that the respondent report only one occupation, and that it be the one at which the most time was spent.(2) This criterion may be desirable for allocating persons to occupations in general, but raises serious questions when applied to those who work as artists. At the very least, the implications of the Census taxonomic procedure should be explored. Thus, there exist greater incentives for researchers wishing to study artists to conduct their own surveys of the relevant population than there might for studies of other occupational groups. However, a problem that arises when studying artists via a direct survey approach is selecting an appropriate rule that excludes from the sample to be analyzed those who don't "qualify" as artists. Because the paths to artistic success are diverse, literally