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“WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE WAY I TALK?” THE EFFECT OF SOUND MOTION PICTURES ON ACTOR CAREERS
Author(s) -
Hanssen F. Andrew
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/ecin.12857
Subject(s) - sound (geography) , motion (physics) , transition (genetics) , economics , minor (academic) , hazard , sociology , acoustics , political science , computer science , law , physics , artificial intelligence , biochemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , gene
The development of sound motion pictures in the late 1920s provides one of history's most evocative examples of the effect of technological innovation on employment. I begin by exploring the transition to sound, which lasted several years. I then analyze transition's effect on actor employment, and find it to be associated with a substantial increase in career terminations, not only among major stars (which film scholars emphasize), but also among more minor actors. Furthermore, I find that sound raised hazard rates generally. Finally, I calculate that the number of actors employed in movies increased substantially in the sound era.