The 2001 second edition of this survey of the economics of - and public policy towards - the fine arts and performing arts covers arts at federal, state, and local levels in the United States as well as the international arts sector. The work will interest academic readers in the field and scholars of the sociology of the arts, as well as general readers seeking a systematic analysis of the arts. Theoretical concepts are developed from scratch so that readers with no background in economics can follow the argument. The authors look at the arts' historical growth and then examine consumption and production of the live performing arts and the fine arts, the functioning of arts markets, the financial problems of performing arts companies and museums, and the key role of public policy. A final chapter speculates about the future of art and culture in the United States.

《艺术经济学》是以艺术商品的生产、消费及价值实现过程为研究对象，包含了理论探讨、实证研究和应用研究三个逻辑层次的内容；同时，力图建立一个基于艺术行业特殊性的经济学解释框架来包容艺术经济活动过程中生产者与消费者、艺术组织和政府等不同主体之间的关系，并提供一种解释不同艺术行业经济现象复杂性的路径。全书共有8章，内容包括艺术经济学的学科性质与研究方法，艺术商品与艺术市场，表演艺术经济，视觉艺术经济，数字艺术经济，艺术博物馆经济，艺术产业、城市文化经营与国家文化创新体系的建构，艺术发展的政策问题。