The Limits of Economics in Understanding a Musician's Life

Michael Rushton reflects on his brief stint in music school and the economic assumptions that fail to capture the transformative nature of an artistic career. He argues that choosing to become a serious artist changes who you are, not just your earning potential, challenging the stable preferences model of economists like Gary Becker and George Stigler. Rushton draws on his own experience—dropping out of university music program after four days—and cites Emma Dollery's essay on arts grants to illustrate the profound personal change involved. He concludes that economic analysis has a blind spot when it comes to preference change, limiting its ability to illuminate cultural choices.