Economist at UVM. Cultural economics, economic history, classical music 🎶, regulation, applied micro. Food, cooking, and 🍷 enthusiast.
Burlington, VT
Joined February 2013
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New paper with @Arts_Econ and @martinhorlyk in J Econ Growth. Composer dynasties produced less prominent descendants. Penalty shrank as conservatories spread and selection became more standardized.
doi.org/10.1007/s10887-026-0…
@UVMecon @SDUeconhist #culturaleconomics
A book about music ought to come with music—even if written by economists. 🎶
So @Arts_Econ and I put together a listening guide for What Makes a Great Composer? Chapter-by-chapter selections, with links to recordings on Spotify and YouTube.
pup-assets.s3.us-east-1.amaz…
If the listening guide leaves you curious about what economics can tell us about musical creativity, there's a whole book to go with it!
What Makes a Great Composer? comes out November 3 from @PrincetonUPress. Available to order here:
press.princeton.edu/books/ha…
In just over a month (November 3!), my book with @Arts_Econ, “What Makes a Great Composer? A Data-Driven Exploration of Music History,” will be published by @PrincetonUPress.
This has been a fun project, bringing together economics and my long-standing love of classical music.
Using data on thousands of composers, we explore where great composers come from, the role of teachers and training, cities and migration, economic incentives, gender and conflict—and why some composers achieve lasting recognition while others do not.
More information and ordering from @PrincetonUPress:
press.princeton.edu/books/eb…
30% off with code P329.
#CulturalEconomics #ClassicalMusic
Delighted to my paper with @Arts_Econ on fairness tradeoffs in expert evaluation published in Public Choice.
@SDUeconhist @UVMecon
Online first in Public Choice:
“Fairness trade-offs in expert evaluation: information, judgment, and procedural design”
by Karol J. Borowiecki & Marc T. Law
doi.org/10.1007/s11127-026-0…
Delighted to be joining @CreativePEC as a research fellow. Looking forward to sharing ideas with other scholars in this area. For more information on the CreativePEC fellows program see
pec.ac.uk/people/research-fe…
Marc T Law retweeted
Testing the #teacher. @MarcLaw4, Mindy S. Marks & @tomer_stern found that increases in teacher preparation program testing standards led to an average 9% decline in graduates, suggesting that higher entry requirements = larger teacher shortages.
doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0424-135…
ALT Teacher Testing Standards and the New Teacher Pipeline Marc T. Law, Mindy S. Marks and Tomer Stern Published online before print May 12, 2026, 0424-13527R2; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0424-13527R2 Abstract We examine the impact of changes in testing standards on the new teacher pipeline by exploiting a quasi-experimental change in the minimum passing score required for admission into teacher training programs. Using institution-level data, we find that higher testing standards sharply reduce teacher preparation program enrollments and graduations. Increases in testing standards are also associated with declines in the number of new teacher licenses awarded. According to our estimates, the average increase in standards led to a nine percent decrease in graduations from teacher training programs, accounting for more than one-third of the overall decline in teacher training graduates.
Many thanks @tylercowen for highlighting my forthcoming book, *What Makes a Great Composer?: A Data-Driven Exploration of Music History*, coauthored with @Arts_Econ. - marginalrevolution.com/margi…
Can rules designed to make evaluation fairer create new fairness problems? New SSRN WP with @Arts_Econ on blind review, outlier rules, transparency, and the political economy of expert evaluation. #PublicChoice #PoliticalEconomy
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.…
My new paper with @Arts_Econ is now published in the Journal of Cultural Economics (open access): “Creators as Firms: The Organization of Creative Production.” It brings transaction cost economics to the study of music history.
doi.org/10.1007/s10824-026-0…
Marc T Law retweeted
🔔Excited to share that papers by @Arts_Econ, @MarcLaw4, and @martinhorlyk have been accepted at Journal of Economic Growth, Journal of Cultural Economics, and Kulturstudier respectively!
👉See the titles below!
Delighted to see this post written by co-author @martinhorlyk published in the LSE Economic History blog on our joint work with @Arts_Econ on dynasties among classical composers.
#CulturalEconomics #EconomicHistory #ClassicalMusic blogs.lse.ac.uk/economichist…
Marc T Law retweeted
I agree but we are part of the equilibrium in our profession and thus can change the status quo with our choices as senior scholars. We can be more tolerant of multiple methods, we can be more encouraging to the creative, and more welcoming to the curious. How science is practiced is a function of the scientists who make up the community! Journal editors, book series editors, dept chairs, search and T&P committees and senior faculty voting on these matters all have agency… we can choose to be better than we have been or are, or worse. Prizes like today to a great scholar like Joel Mokyr give me hope we can choose to be better!
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New paper (w/ @Arts_Econ ) just out in JCE:
“Psychological Capital, Effort Costs, and Creativity”
Draws on our composer research to explain non-linear, path-dependent creative careers.
🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s10824-025-0…
🙏 @SyddanskUni for open access funding.
@SDUeconhist, @UVMecon
Thrilled to see my latest paper on classical composers (co-authored with @Arts_Econ and Yichu Wang) featured on @MargRev.
@UVMecon @SDUeconhist @SSRN #Culturaleconomics #ACEI #Econtwitter
marginalrevolution.com/margi…
Published version of “Where are the female composers? Human capital and gender inequality in music history” (with @Arts_Econ and @martinhorlyk) is now available open access at EER!
#econtwitter #culturaleconomics @SDUeconhist @UVMecon
sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
Marc T Law retweeted
Fantastic piece by @jbarro about atrocious Democratic governance in NYC particularly and big cities generally. joshbarro.com/p/trump-didnt-…
Excited to share this Call for Papers for the 23rd International Conference on Cultural Economics that will be held at Erasmus University (Rotterdam, NL) from 24-27 June 2025!
eur.nl/en/media/2024-10-acei…
Deadline for paper proposals is 1 Feb 2025.
#Culturaleconomics #ACEI