Does the sun shine on art prices?

This Paper examines how the variations in mood can influence the risks people take and how this changes the price for art in auctions. For this study they also take into acount the formed cartels.

To identify the changes in mood of the people they use the variation in hours of daily sunshine. For example they found that on the sunniest days, the price at auctions is higher for low priced painting compared to days with normal weather. Evidence also shows that only the upper end of prices distribution is affected by the cartel. The mood has an effect on the prices but is relatively weak and disappears the more the prices move up. well they actually can't say if it totally disappears but if it doesn't disappear it is overshadowed by the influence the cartels have on the prices for the upper echelon. They also determind that the seasons have some form of effect on the sales. The summer and winter see more painting being sold then the other seasons.

To get to this conclusion they use a serie of variables and data gatherd in London from 1990 to 2007. These variables consist of weather variables, the actual action data from each of those days,... .

Raphael Truyens