Research

My research interests are mainly on innovation and creativity in the arts in history, including topics on creative clusters, migration of creative people and transmission of ideas.

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Selected Publications

Good Reverberations? Teacher Influence in Music Composition since 1450 [pdf], Journal of Political Economy, 2022, 130(4): 991-1090

How Are You, My Dearest Mozart? Well-being and Creativity of Three Famous Composers Based on their Letters [pdf], Review of Economics and Statistics, 2017, 99(4): 591-605

Geographic Clustering and Productivity: An Instrumental Variable Approach for Classical Composers [pdf], Journal of Urban Economics, 2013, 73: 94-110

Originality, Influence and Success: A Model of Creative Style [pdf], joint with Caterina Mauri, Journal of Cultural Economics, 2024, forthcoming


Journal Publications

Do Experts and Laypersons Differ? Some Evidence from International Classical Music Competitions [pdf], joint with Marc Law and Roberto Asmat, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2023, 214: 270-290

Introduction to the special issue: the economic history of the arts [pdf], European Review of Economic History 2023, 27(3): 303-310

Harmonious relations: Quality transmission among composers in the very long run [pdf], joint with Maria Marchenko and Nicholas Ford, European Review of Economic History, 2023, 27(3): 454–476

Originality, Influence and Success: A Model of Creative Style [pdf], joint with Caterina Mauri, Journal of Cultural Economics, 2023

The Great Margin Call: The Role of Leverage in the 1929 Wall Street Crash [pdf], joint with Michal Dzielinski and Allie Tepper, Economic History Review, 2023

Good Reverberations? Teacher Influence in Music Composition since 1450 [pdf], Journal of Political Economy, 2022, 130(4): 991-1090

  • Media coverage: The Economist (covered indirectly), Erhvervplus, Ökonomenstimme, The Visible Hand Podcast, VoxEU, EconomistsTalkArt.org
  • New forms of finance and funding in the cultural and creative industries. Introduction to the special issue [pdf], joint with Loots, Ellen, Diana Betzler, Trine Bille, and Boram Lee, Journal of Cultural Economics, 2022, 46(2): 205-230

    A Leverage-Based Measure of Financial Stability [pdf], joint with Tobias Adrian and Alexander Tepper, Journal of Financial Intermediation, 2022, 51: 100907

    Immigrant Artists: Enrichment or Replacement? [pdf], joint with Kathryn Graddy, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2021, 191: 785-797

    What makes an artist? The evolution and clustering of creative activity in the US since 1850 [pdf] (Previous title: The Origins of Creativity: The Case of the Arts in the US since 1850), joint with Christian Møller Dahl, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2021, 86: 103614

  • Media coverage: VoxEU, Money, Hyperallergic, Artnet News, W, Highsnobiety, Jacobian, Smithsonian, NyViden, Forbes
  • Did you really take a hit? Understanding how video games playing affects individuals [pdf], joint with Hasan Bakhshi, Research in Economics, 2018, 72: 313-26

  • Media coverage: The Sunday Times, liveMINT, Giga
  • Policy impact: The UK Interactive Entertainment Association, NESTA Cultural Policy
  • Fiscal and Economic Aspects of Book Consumption in the European Union [pdf], joint with Trilce Navarrete, Journal of Cultural Economics, 2018, 42(2): 309-39

  • Media coverage: Livres Hebdo
  • Policy impact (potentially): European Council of the European Union
  • How Are You, My Dearest Mozart? Well-being and Creativity of Three Famous Composers Based on their Letters [pdf], Review of Economics and Statistics, 2017, 99(4): 591-605

  • Media coverage (selected): The Washington Post, The Times, National Public Radio, Boston Globe, World Economic Forum, Tech.co, Pacific Standard, NZ Herald, Inc.com, Arts Journal, Daily Journal, Cape Cod Times, El Observador, PlayGround Magazine, Toronto Star, Myanmar Times, Klassik, Mail on Sunday
  • Policy impact: United Nations World Happiness Report
  • May I have this Dance? Dance Participation and Attendance in Denmark [pdf], joint with Catarina Marvao, Cultural Trends, 2017, 26(2): 155-67

    Digitization of heritage collections as indicator of innovation [pdf], joint with Trilce Navarrete, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 2017, 26(3): 227-46

    The Drivers of Long-run CO2 Emissions: A Global Perspective since 1800 [pdf], joint with Sofia Henriques, Energy Policy, 2017, 101: 537-49

    Immigration and the Demand for Life Insurance: Evidence from Canada, 1911 [pdf], joint with Alan de Bromhead, European Review of Economic History, 2016, 20(2): 147-75

    Changes in cultural consumption: Ethnographic collections in Wikipedia [pdf], joint with Trilce Navarrete, Cultural Trends, 2016, 25(4): 233-48

    Historical origins of cultural supply in Italy [pdf], Oxford Economic Papers, 2015, 67(3): 781-805

    In fatal pursuit of immortal fame: Peer competition and early mortality of music composers [pdf], joint with Georgios Kavetsos, Social Science & Medicine, 2015, 134: 30-42

  • Media coverage: The Telegraph, Slate, Pacific Standard, Kurier, GEO Magazine
  • Agglomeration Economies in Classical Music [pdf], Papers in Regional Science, 2015, 94(3): 443-68

  • Lead article. Media coverage: The Washington Post
  • Video Games Playing: A substitute for cultural consumptions? [pdf], joint with Juan Prieto-Rodriguez, Journal of Cultural Economics, 2015, 39(3): 239-58

  • Policy impact: NESTA Cultural Policy
  • Accounting for Breakout in Britain: The Industrial Revolution through a Malthusian Lens [pdf], joint with Alexander Tepper, Journal of Macroeconomics, 2015, 44: 219-233

    Cosmetic earnings management and quarterly reporting: Evidence from European companies [pdf], joint with Vladimir Stojanovic, International Journal of Economics and Accounting, 2015, 6(3): 248-75

    Artistic Creativity and Extreme Events: The Heterogeneous Impact of War on Composers' Production [pdf], Poetics, 2014, 47: 83-105

  • Media coverage: Pacific Standard Magazine, Ny Viden, DR Radio
  • Delegation and Motivation [pdf], joint with Lukas Angst, Theory and Decision, 2014, 76: 363-93

    Cultural participation and tourism flows: an empirical investigation of Italian provinces [pdf], joint with Concetta Castiglione, Tourism Economics, 2014, 20(2): 241-62

    Impact of War on Individual Life-cycle Creativity: Tentative Evidence in Relation to Composers [pdf], joint with John O'Hagan, Journal of Cultural Economics, 2013, 37(3): 347-58

    Conflict-induced Migration of Composers: An Individual-level Study [pdf], Cliometrica, 2013, 7(3): 237-66

    Geographic Clustering and Productivity: An Instrumental Variable Approach for Classical Composers [pdf], Journal of Urban Economics, 2013, 73: 94-110

  • ACEI Presidents' Best Paper Award and First Place Award during the European Science Days. Media coverage: The Washington Post, RTE News, Fynske Medier
  • Are Composers Different? Historical Evidence on Conflict-induced Migration (1816-1997) [pdf], European Review of Economic History, 2012, 16(3): 270-91

    Dynamics of a Protected Housing Market: The Case of Switzerland [pdf], Urban Studies, 2012, 49(14): 3188-3203

    Historical Patterns Based on Automatically Extracted Data: the Case of Classical Composers [pdf], joint with John O'Hagan, Historical Social Research (Section 'Cliometrics'), 2012, 37(2): 298-314

    Birth Location, Migration and Clustering of Important Composers: Historical Patterns [pdf], joint with John O'Hagan, Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, 2010, 43(2): 81-91

    The Determinants of House Prices and Construction: An Empirical Investigation of the Swiss Housing Economy [pdf], International Real Estate Review, 2009, 12(3): 193-220

  • Lead article. Chapters from Summa Cum Laude graded Master Thesis.

  • Books

    What Makes a Great Composer? An Economist’s Answer based on a Millennium of Data, joint with Marc Law. Princeton: Princeton University Press, under contract

    Innovative Cultural Tourism in European Peripheries: Visiting the Margins, joint with Jose Maria Civantos and Antonella Fresa (Eds.). London: Routledge, under contract, forthcoming 2024

    The Economics of Art and Culture (3rd edition), joint with Charles M. Gray and the late James Heilbrun. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2023

  • See reviews
  • Cultural Heritage in a Changing World [pdf], joint with Neil Forbes and Antonella Fresa (Eds.). Heidelberg: Springer, 2016

  • Book downloaded 500k+ (Bookmetrix)
  • Chapters

    Data collection and analysis in cultural tourism, joint with Sara Mitchell and Maja Uhre-Pedersen. In Karol J. Borowiecki, Jose Maria Civantos and Antonella Fresa (Eds.), Innovative Cultural Tourism in European Peripheries: Visiting the Margins. London: Routledge, forthcoming 2024

    Orchestrating Change: The Future of Orchestras post Covid-19, joint with John O'Hagan. In Elisa Salvador, Trilce Navarrete and Andrej Srakar (Eds.), Creative Industries and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Focus. London: Routledge, 2021

    Creativity. In Ruth Towse and Trilce Navarrete (Eds.), Handbook of Cultural Economics. Cheltenham: Elgar, 2020: 145-153

    Arts and Culture, joint with Diana Greenwald. In Claude Diebolt & Mike Haupert (Eds.), Handbook of Cliometrics. Heidelberg: Springer, 2019

    The Cultural Value and Variety of Playing Video Games, joint with Juan Prieto-Rodriguez. In J. Prieto-Rodriguez, V.M. Ateca-Amestoy, V. Ginsburgh, I. Mazza and J. O'Hagan (Eds.), Enhancing Cultural Participation in the EU. Challenges and Methods. Heidelberg: Springer, 2017: 323-336


    Work In Progress

    How entrepreneurial are Airbnb hosts in rural regions? An exploratory profiling study from three Nordic regions, joint with Sara Mitchell, Birgit Leick, Evgueni Vinogradov, Guðrún Þóra Gunnarsdóttir, Jie Zhang, Susanne Gretzinger, Vera Vilhjálmsdóttir, R&R at the International Journal of Hospitality Management

  • Policy impact: Nordic Council of Ministers
  • Competing for Equality: Understanding the Gender Gap in Piano Competitions since 1870, joint with Marc Law and Roberto Asmat, work in progress

  • Policy impact: World Federation of International Music Competitions
  • Using big data to measure cultural tourism in Europe with unprecedented precision, joint with Sara Mitchell and Maja Uhre Pedersen, work in progress

  • Runner-up Best Paper Award ATMC
  • Where is the Female Composer? Evidence on the Extent and Causes of Gender Inequality in Music History, joint with Martin Horlyk Kristensen and Marc T. Law, work in progress

  • Runner-up ACEI Presidents' Best Paper Award
  • The Sound of Nepotism: Artistic Prominence, Productivity and Nepotism among Composers, joint with Martin Horlyk Kristensen, work in progress


    Cultural Policy and Media Impact

    See here