Is 'Cost disease' contagious? The case of early music ensembles

Pierre Francois (1)

1 CSO - Centre de sociologie des organisations (Sciences Po, CNRS)

The article aims to supplement traditional explanations of why performing arts institutions tend to run a deficit. The case of early music ensembles shows that the traditionally cited mechanisms do not suffice to explain why these institutions catch Baumol’s “cost disease.” Baumol’s model may be supplemented by another, based on two related hypotheses: the deepening deficit of early music ensembles is related to their going professional and is due to the fact that they are simultaneously competing with subsidized orchestras on two markets: the concert market and the labor market for musicians.

Keywords: Cultural policy; Market; Labor market for musicians; Early music ensembles

Domains: Humanities and Social Sciences; Sociology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Political science

Pierre Francois. Is 'Cost disease' contagious? The case of early music ensembles. Sociologie du Travail, 2007, 49 (supplément 1), pp.34 - 49. ⟨10.1016/j.soctra.2007.01.003⟩. ⟨hal-03176338⟩