---

The economics of the performing arts is a subdiscipline of economics that focuses on the workings of the performing arts as an economic activity. Mainstream neoclassical economics dominates this scientific arena and subsumes under its principles the phenomena that are observed in the field. The ideal of theoretical unification underlies the endeavours of economists, so the aim is to apply the derivational patterns used for other industries also to the performing arts. This does not allow for the inclusion of much specific information coming from the pratice itself, so many idiosyncrasies of the performing arts are left out of consideration when economic theories are constructed. By showing how the economic study of the performing arts has been developing so far and by exploring some of its shortcomings, the aim is to appeal to alternative economic approaches to artistic fields. Approaches that incorporate more relevant information regarding the actual way the arts work.

---

Susana Gra‡a is an Economist with a PhD in Philosophy and Economics (Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics, The Netherlands). She has worked extensively in funding bodies for the arts in Portugal, and as a lecturer and researcher in several universities. She is currently the economic relations officer of the Embassy of Norway in Lisbon

---