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Michael Rushton on pricing the arts

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About those museum prices

March 28, 2013 by Michael Rushton 2 Comments

we get letters

My post staking a claim that $25 to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art was not expensive generated some comments. There are two issues at play here, not entirely separable: first, that compared to other genres of art, high and low, $25 to see what is one of the world's greatest collections of art is not widely at odds with what one pays elsewhere, and in fact might even be somewhat less, and, second, regardless of the price compared to other genres, ought the Museum to charge a price as high as $25? The focus of my post was on the first … [Read more...]

Michael Rushton

Michael Rushton taught in the Arts Administration programs at Indiana University, and lives in Bloomington. An economist by training, he has published widely on such topics as public funding of the … MORE

About For What It’s Worth

What’s the price? Everything has one; admission, subscriptions, memberships, special exhibitions, box seats, refreshments, souvenirs, and on and on – a full menu. What the price is matters. Generally, nonprofit arts organizations in the US receive about half of their revenue as “earned income,” and … [Read More...]

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Recent Comments

  • Michael Rushton on Should there be a tax deduction for donating to the nonprofit arts?: “Hello Antonio, I appreciate your comments. I’ll tackle your questions in order. First, here is the IRS: “It has long…” Mar 15, 13:46
  • antonio c. cuyler on Should there be a tax deduction for donating to the nonprofit arts?: “I appreciate the systematic simplicity of your analysis, Michael. I take it that you believe conserving the system, with a…” Mar 15, 08:21
  • antonio c. cuyler on Equality, the arts, and the problem of expensive tastes: “I applaud your courage in dissenting, Michael, even if it may place you at odds with the sector. I also…” Feb 2, 10:57
  • Michael Rushton on Equality, the arts, and the problem of expensive tastes: “Thank you David. In terms of costs, the quick, and I think too-easy answer, is cost-disease, which affects any sector,…” Feb 1, 15:04
  • David E. Myers on Equality, the arts, and the problem of expensive tastes: “Hi Michael, Always grateful for your perspectives, though as you know, I do not always agree. At the risk of…” Feb 1, 11:16
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