Preferred work patterns of creative artists

Recent research has highlighted ways in which the labour market behaviour of artists differs from the predictions of conventional theory. This paper considers one particular aspect of artists' labour supply, i.e. the extent to which preferred time allocations to creative work can be realised, given the multiple job-holding and other characteristics of artists' working arrangements. It is suggested that greater financial security and the accumulation of human capital are likely to be associated with increased ability to achieve equilibrium between desired and actual labour supply to the market for creative work. These propositions are tested empirically using data from a recent survey of practising professional artists in Australia.