WFU Professor Fred Chen Explores the Economics Behind Art Heist

Economics Professor Dr. Fred Chen is taking a closer look at the surprising economics behind art theft. In research published in the Journal of Cultural Economics, Chen and co-author Rebecca Regan use game theory to examine how museum security, law enforcement and the black market interact — and why stronger policing can sometimes have the unexpected effect of increasing art theft. Their work highlights how incentives and trade-offs can lead to some surprising outcomes when it comes to protecting the world’s most valuable treasure. Full article