IngentaConnect Artists' Suicides as a Public Good

Authors: Cameron, Samuel¹; Yang, Bijou²; Lester, David³

Source: Archives of Suicide Research, Volume 9, Number 4, October-December 2005 , pp. 389-396(8)

Publisher: Taylor and Francis Ltd

Key:

- Free Content

- New Content

- Subscribed Content

- Free Trial Content

Abstract:

This Commentary suggests that it is possible, from an economic perspective, that any individual artist/celebrity suicide may be of net benefit to society. Sales of the artist's products and associated merchandise may increase after the suicide, and people, including those who were not even born at the time of the suicide, may derive value from its iconic reification, not to mention the higher value they derive from some private goods. A case study of Kurt Cobain is given to illustrate this phenomenon.

Keywords: celebrity suicide; economic cost; public good; externalities

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/13811110500182489

Affiliations: 1: Centre for International Development, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK 2: Department of Economics and International Business, Drexel University, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA 3: The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA

* This feature is in beta and some links may initially be displayed as numbers instead of article titles. Clicking on any of the links will take you to the recommended articles, regardless of the display of the link.

The full text article is available for purchase

$40.59 plus tax