Exploring occupational and career implications of human capital specificity: a fine arts case study

It has been suggested that at the heart of a degree in fine arts is a curriculum that gives students the freedom to experiment, develop their problem-solving skills, creative faculties, and the ability to conceptualize. With this in mind it stands to reason that an individual with a fine arts education should be succeeding in a knowledge-based economy that values creativity for economic growth. However, contemporary data in Australia shows that individuals holding tertiary degrees in fine arts rate the lowest in terms of employment gained relative to other degree holders and have a negative monetary rate of return.<br><br> While the aforementioned statistics are important, ex post data does not tell the full story. Life is unpredictable. Along the protracted road to graduation all manner of uncertainty awaits us. Treating an investment in education as a choice made under uncertainty, particularly in light of the differences between specific and general human capital, provides a more complete and comprehensive picture of the ex ante gains from undertaking a fine arts degree. This research maps the professional lifecycle of fine arts graduates living in and around the Melbourne, Australia region in order to examine the trade-off between higher productivity and flexibility in the labor market.<br>