{"id":567,"date":"2013-03-28T16:51:45","date_gmt":"2013-03-28T23:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=567"},"modified":"2013-03-28T16:51:45","modified_gmt":"2013-03-28T23:51:45","slug":"about-those-museum-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/03\/about-those-museum-prices\/","title":{"rendered":"About those museum prices"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"we<\/a>My post<\/a> staking a claim that $25 to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art was not expensive generated some comments.<\/p>\n

There are two issues at play here, not entirely separable: first, that compared to other genres of art, high and low, $25 to see what is one of the world’s greatest collections of art is not widely at odds with what one pays elsewhere, and in fact might even be somewhat less, and, second, regardless of the price compared to other genres, ought<\/em> the Museum to charge a price as high as $25? The focus of my post was on the first issue, but virtually all commentary was aimed at the second issue, so let’s look closer.<\/p>\n

BobG notes that “in at least some sense, the art already belongs to the public.” But even if we accept that, it remains that researching, curating, and exhibiting the art is an ongoing cost. We also “own” Yellowstone National Park, but it will cost me $25 to drive into the park, and with good reason – there is a cost to managing and preserving the natural heritage. In a sense, we own (or, more properly, nobody owns) the works of classical music for which copyright has expired and which now exist in the public domain. But we recognize that those works cannot be performed costlessly, and we expect to pay for the chance to hear a live performance.<\/p>\n

A second argument is that there are benefits to society from access to the art beyond those that accrue to the actual visitors, and there is a textbook economic case for subsidizing goods that exhibit such “positive externalities.” MikeW says “Libraries are free because we consider access to books and other information essential to meaningful citizenship in our society.” And I benefit from others having access to that information, exercising their citizenship, even if I don’t personally use the library – it makes for a better society for me as well as them. A good point, but it does leave the question of how much<\/em> subsidy is appropriate. That positive externalities exist are grounds for some<\/em> subsidy – and in fact the Met is heavily subsidized by the city and by donors past and present – but it does not necessarily lead to the result that entrance ought to be free.<\/p>\n

A third argument is that for many people, $25 is not a trivial sum. Sarah writes that “it\u2019s going to be really hard for museums to shake their stuffy, exclusive reputations when they fail to consider those in lower income brackets as valuable patrons,” and Zoe notes “How many first-time museum-goers have arrived and been too shy NOT to fork over $25 (per person!) that they could ill afford\u2013never to return? It is wrong to humiliate people of lower economic status in this way. Especially given the amount of energy dedicated to dispelling any aura of elitism at museums.” Here I am going to refer to an older post<\/a> on targeting benefits to lower-income individuals. Given the demographic we expect to visit the museum, even if the price were lowered to $5<\/em>, is lowering the entrance fee in general an effective way to benefit potential lower-income patrons? I fully agree that for many people $25 for a museum visit is beyond their budget, and for that period of their lives where income is tight they will need to rely on other places to experience art (and there are many places where art is to be had for free). But lowering the price for professors like me<\/em> is a costly way to benefit low-income patrons. Pay-what-you-can evenings and the like are much more cost effective at achieving this result.<\/p>\n

Thanks to all those taking the time to comment, it’s what makes blogging worth doing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My post staking a claim that $25 to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art was not expensive generated some comments. There are two issues at play here, not entirely separable: first, that compared to other genres of art, high and low, $25 to see what is one of the world’s greatest collections of art is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[34,15,33],"class_list":{"0":"post-567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-issues","7":"tag-externalities","8":"tag-museums","9":"tag-targeting","10":"entry","11":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-99","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2369,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2018\/10\/what-the-doctor-ordered\/","url_meta":{"origin":567,"position":0},"title":"What the doctor ordered","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"October 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Doctors will be able to prescribe visits to the Montreal Museum of Fine Art for their patients, reports the Gazette: Doctors will each be able to assign up to 50 museum prescriptions over the course of the pilot project. Each prescription will allow entry for up to two adults and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"after your water break, time for 20 Goyas, you can do it!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/participaction-293x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1110,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/03\/economics-of-deaccessioning-a-bit-theoretical\/","url_meta":{"origin":567,"position":1},"title":"Economics of deaccessioning (a bit theoretical) (updated)","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Why is it so wrong that a museum would sell works from its collection? More specifically, why is it wrong to sell works where the proceeds from the sale would not be committed to the purchase of other works for the collection? I know of the policies of the Association\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sounds tempting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Herbert_James_Draper_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Herbert_James_Draper_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Herbert_James_Draper_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Herbert_James_Draper_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1189,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/03\/deaccessioning-as-a-singular-event\/","url_meta":{"origin":567,"position":2},"title":"Deaccessioning as a singular event (updated again)","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Delaware Art Museum is planning on selling some works to pay off debt. The New York Times reports here, noting that \"selling works to pay for operations or capital projects is widely considered an ethical violation, a betrayal of a museum\u2019s role of holding art in public trust\" (and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"in debt","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/DAM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/DAM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/DAM.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/DAM.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1756,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/12\/should-nonprofit-museums-have-free-admission-because-they-are-tax-exempt\/","url_meta":{"origin":567,"position":3},"title":"Should nonprofit museums have free admission because they are tax exempt?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"December 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"No. But Christopher Knight\u00a0at the LA Times thinks they should: Yes, every art museum needs multiple sources of revenue. It does cost money to run the place. However, because they are tax exempt, art museums already count the public as a major, indirect source of revenue. Required admission fees add\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"And everybody should have one","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pony.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":424,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/03\/why-does-the-indianapolis-museum-of-art-have-free-admission\/","url_meta":{"origin":567,"position":4},"title":"Why does the Indianapolis Museum of Art have Free Admission?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Preamble: I know what I don't know. Specifically, when looking at any arts organization and its menu of prices, I do not have insider knowledge of its current or potential audience, its donors, or its costs. So when I comment on the price structure of any specific museum or other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"free love","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/ima-300x168.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2514,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2019\/11\/the-wealth-tax-and-the-museum\/","url_meta":{"origin":567,"position":5},"title":"The wealth tax and the museum","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"November 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"At Bloomberg, Tyler Cowen has a short post on some unintended consequences of a wealth tax. It's an idea being talked about in the Democratic candidate debates. In the US we do have a few wealth taxes already: local property taxes, and, for the very, very wealthy, estate taxes. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/reading-the-will.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/reading-the-will.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/reading-the-will.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/reading-the-will.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/reading-the-will.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}