Cultural institutions and value formation on the art market: A rent-seeking approach

The formation of value in the artistic market can be specifically affected by the behavior of cultural institutions, acting on it as monopolistic quality certifiers. The rent-maximizing strategy limits quantities to sub-optimum levels and keeps prices and costs higher. This can be worsened by institutional rent-seeking. The establishment's strategies cannot always be matched through public policies, because this can result in an increase of monopoly social losses and of the establishment's lobbying efforts.