Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
名字里有什么？古典作曲家中的家族传承、选拔与人才配置
What’s in a name? Dynasties, selection, and talent allocation among classical composers
摘要
A central question in economics is how talent is allocated across elite professions and whether access is shaped by family ties or by open, standardized systems of selection. We study these questions in Western classical composition, a setting in which family background historically influenced entry through both inherited skill and inherited privilege, and where rich biographical records make it possible to trace selection over multiple centuries. Using data on more than 16,000 composers from 450 CE to the present, we identify dynastic ties from Grove Music Online and measure prominence by biographical entry length. Dynastic composers are 15–21 percent less prominent than non-dynasts, conditional on country and birth cohort, and this discount is driven by descendants: founders perform about as well as non-dynasts, while descendants perform significantly worse. Archival manuscript evidence from the Répertoire International des Sources Musicales yields similar results, suggesting that the pattern is not an artifact of editorial selection. In the twentieth century, however, the dynasty discount reverses, consistent with the transition from informal, family-based entry to more standardized selection through conservatory training. Consistent with this interpretation, dynasts are less likely to have formal training mentioned in their biographies, more likely to be described as advancing through family connections, and face a smaller dynasty discount in regions and periods with conservatories. Taken together, the findings suggest that expanded access to standardized training can weaken inherited advantage, reshape elite formation, and improve talent allocation, with broader implications for long-run innovation and economic performance.
中文摘要
经济学的一个核心问题是，人才如何在精英职业中分配，以及进入这些职业的途径是由家庭关系塑造，还是由开放、标准化的选拔体系决定。我们以西方古典作曲为背景研究这些问题，在这一领域中，家庭背景历史上通过继承技能和继承特权影响进入，而丰富的传记记录使我们能够追溯多个世纪的选拔过程。利用公元450年至今超过16,000名作曲家的数据，我们从《格罗夫音乐在线》中识别出家族纽带，并通过传记条目长度衡量知名度。在控制国家和出生队列的条件下，家族作曲家的知名度比非家族作曲家低15%至21%，这一折扣主要由后代驱动：创始人的表现与非家族作曲家相当，而后代的表现则显著较差。来自《国际音乐源目录》的档案手稿证据得出了类似结果，表明这一模式并非编辑选择的产物。然而，在20世纪，家族折扣发生了逆转，这与从非正式、基于家庭的进入向通过音乐学院培训进行标准化选拔的转变相一致。与这一解释一致的是，家族作曲家在其传记中提及正式培训的可能性较低，更可能被描述为通过家庭关系晋升，并且在有音乐学院的地区和时期，家族折扣较小。综合来看，这些发现表明，扩大标准化培训的获取渠道可以削弱继承优势，重塑精英形成，并改善人才分配，对长期创新和经济表现具有更广泛的意义。