The Impact of the Droit de Suite in the UK: An Empirical Analysis

Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP7136

Authors: Kathryn Graddy; Chanont Banternghansa

Abstract: The Droit de Suite, known in the UK as Artists? Resale Rights, provides an artist with the inalienable right to receive a royalty based on the resale price of an original work of art. This paper provides an empirical analysis of actual changes in the UK auction market for art that is subject to the Droit de Suite (DDS), relative to changes for art not subject to the DDS, and also relative to changes in the auction markets for art in countries where there has been no change in law. We do a difference-in-difference analysis, differencing price growth and sales growth across market segments and across countries over the period 1996 to 2007. Our results suggest that the introduction of the DDS has not had a negative impact on the UK art auction market.

Keywords: art; artists resale rights; auction; droit de suite

JEL Codes: D44; H20; Z11


Causal Claims Network Graph

Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.


Causal Claims

CauseEffect
droit de suite (dds) (P14)UK art auction market price growth (D44)
droit de suite (dds) (P14)UK art auction market sales growth (D44)
UK art auction market price growth (subject to dds) (Z11)UK art auction market price growth (not subject to dds) (Z11)
UK art auction market price growth (subject to dds) (Z11)UK art auction market price growth (other countries) (Z11)
droit de suite (dds) (P14)shift in sales to countries without dds (F69)
droit de suite (dds) (P14)number of artworks sold at auction subject to dds (D44)

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