Economics of art auctions

Gianfranco Mossetto , Marilena Vecco

John Abowd, Richard J. Agnello, Orley Ashenfelter, Carlos Pestana Barros, Arthur C. Brooks, Cristina Da Milano, Victor Fernandez-Blanco, Thomas Heskia, Edward Krowitz, Jianping Mei, Michael Moses, Lucio Picci, Juan Prieto-Rodriguez, Antonello E. Scorcu, Michele Trimarchi, Olav Velthuis

Lista Contributi

Studi, ricerche

pp. 256,      1^a edizione  2002   (Codice editore 365.215)

This book is a collection of the original contributions, presented at the international workshop on The Economics of Art Auctions held by ICARE, the International Center for Art Economics of the University Ca' Foscari, Venice, on January 17-18th 2002. The contributions were intended to supply a general view on the most recent approaches to this subject. They are therefore differentiated by discipline as well as by case. Some are in the nature of surveys, others have a modelling background and again others are case studies.

The topic of the economics of art auctions has been analysed focusing mainly on two aspects: the profitability of art investment and the strategic behaviour of the players involved in art auctions. Additional investigations about the problems arising from the new application of internet to auctions are also included, together with case studies on specific segments of the auction market.

Gianfranco Mossetto , professor of Public Finance at the University of Ca' Foscari in Venice, has been holding the first Italian chair of Cultural Economics since 1993. He is chairman of the International Center for Art Economics (ICARE) of the University of Venice, which he founded in 1991. He also co-founded the graduation program on Economics and Management of the Arts and Culture (E.G.A.R.T.) at the University of Venice. He is the author of: Museo contro museo (with P. Valentino, 2002), Economia del patrimonio monumentale (with M. Vecco, 2001), Aesthetics and Economics (1993), Italiani senza rendita (1993), L'economia delle città d'arte (1992), Economia del benessere e democrazia (1972).

Marilena Vecco is head of research for the International Center for Art Economics (I.C.A.R.E.). She teaches Cultural Economics at the graduation program on Economics and Management of Turist Services (E.Ge.S.T.) and Social History of Art at E.G.A.R.T., University Ca' Foscari of Venice. She is author of Biennale di Venezia-Documenta Kassel (2001).

Gianfranco Mossetto, Marilena Vecco, Introduction
Short Vocabulary on Auction
A Bibliography on the Economic Literature on Auctions
Part I. Profitability of Art Investment
Agnello Richard J., Returns and Risk for Art: Findings from Auctions of American Paintings Differentiated by Artist, Genre and Quality
(Introduction; Market for Paintings and Methodology; Data and Findings; Conclusions)
Ashenfelter, John Abowd, Using Price Indeces and Sale Rates to assess Short Run Changes in the Market for Impressionist and Contemporary Paintings
(Introduction; Data; Methods; Conclusions)
Moses Michael, Jianping Mei, Can a Rembrandt get you through a Recession?
(Introduction; Painting Data and computational Methodology; Risk and Return Characteristics of the Art Price Index; Art and Stocks during Wars and Recessions; Oil Prices, the S&P500 and the Price of Art; Conclusions)
Part II. Strategic Operations of Art Auctions
Barros Carlos Pestana, Auctions of Classical and Contemporary Paintings in a Periphery Market
(Introduction; Survey of the Literature; Institutional Setting: How Auctions Work for Art in a Periphery Economy; Model of Equilibrium Bidding in Oral Auctions; Results; Conclusions)
Scorcu Antonello E., Picci Lucio, Biddders' and Sellers' Strategies in Sequential Auctions. New Evidence About the Afternoon Effect
(Introduction; Art Auctions; Afternoon Effect and Price Dynamics in Sequential Auctions; Auction Price Structure and Auction Houses Behavior; The Data Set and the Empirical Evidence; Conclusions)
Velthuis Olav, Promoters and Parasiters. An Alternative Explanation of Price Dispersion on the Art Market
(Introduction; Methods; Economic Explanations; Public versus Private Prices; Moral Indignation; Elusive Values; Favored Collectors; Erecting Boundaries; Conclusions)
Part III. Internet and Art Auctions
Brooks Arthur C., Contingent Valuation and the Winner's Curse in Internet Art Auctions
(Introduction; The Winner's Curse in Art Auctions; A Closed-ended Auction Mechanism; Conclusions; Appendix)
Fernandez-Blanco Victor and Prieto-Rodriguez Juan, Internet and sealed-bid Auctions as a new Opportunity for the Art Market
(Introduction; Online Actioneers and the new Leadership; Responses of traditional Auction Houses; Fees and Expertise; General Effects on Sales and selling Prices; Fine Art Works and Antiques as common Value Assets and the Winner's Curse; Conclusions)
Parte IV. Case Studies
Trimarchi Michele, Da Milano Cristina, Points of View: Perception and Evaluation in Archaeological Auctions
(Introduction and Scope of the Paper; The Concept of Value; The Ideology of Value; Four Auctions at Christie's; Concluding Remarks)
Krowitz Edward, Why Artefacts need to grow to Tails
(Introduction; The anomaly of the Art Auction Market; The Supply and Production of Artifacts; Job Design; What should be done?; Why Property Rights Matter for the Cultural Heritage; Summary)
Heskia Thomas, Global Players in Local Markets International Auction Houses in the Austrian market for Art Auctions
(Introduction; The Size of the Austrian Art Auction Market; The Position of Austria in the International Art Auction Market; Strategies of the International Auction Houses; The Consignor's Choice: the Impact of the Transaction Costs; Export Regulations; Restitution of Works of Art and the Impact of the International Auction Market; Conclusions).