Do art experts (bohemians) attract high-skilled professionals? Evidence from panel data in German regions

This paper provides evidence on the role of art experts (bohemians) in high-skilled professionals’ locational choices in German regions (NUTS 3) over the period 1998–2008. In particular, it examines Richard Florida’s thesis, which considers art experts as creative people who attract high-skilled labour force. Our panel data estimation results support the thesis that art experts have positive and significant impact on high-skilled experts and that these individuals flock where art experts are. We also find that regional per capita income and employment have positive and robust effect on the distribution of highskilled professionals. The positive effects suggest that the distribution of the high-skilled labor force is a reflection of economic and non-economic factors.