Sale Rates and Price Movements in Art Auctions
American Economic Review
vol. 101,
no. 3, May 2011
(pp. 212-16)
Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between sale rates and price shocks in art auctions. Using data on contemporary and impressionist art, we show that while sale rates appear to have little relationship to current prices, there exists a strong negative relationship of sale rates to unexpected price shocks, which is reminiscent of a Phillips curve. We estimate an empirical model that suggests that the reserve price is set on average at about 70% of the low estimate.Citation
Ashenfelter, Orley, and Kathryn Graddy. 2011. "Sale Rates and Price Movements in Art Auctions." American Economic Review, 101 (3): 212-16. DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.3.212JEL Classification
- D44 Auctions
- Z11 Cultural Economics: Economics of the Arts and Literature