Introduction
The artistic labor market is characterized by unique features such as job insecurity, low wages, and income instability. One of the most distinctive aspects, compared to conventional economic theories of the labor market, is the multiple job-holding among artists. Despite a growing body of literature in cultural economics that discusses this phenomenon, the determinants of multiple job-holding in the artistic and creative labor markets remain largely underexplored. It is of significance to note that the methodology of economics focuses on establishing a well-restricted framework of determinants, rather than listing all possible factors. This approach enables policymakers to effectively monitor and, if necessary, adjust a limited set of variables to achieve broader economic and social goals related to a particular phenomenon. This paper aims to identify the determinants of multiple job-holding among artists by analyzing the underlying infrastructures of the market for arts and cultural goods and services. The research question of this study is:

Which market infrastructures significantly explain the variations in multiple job-holding among calligraphers?

Although the importance of examining this issue extends beyond the artistic and creative labor markets, fundamental changes in labor markets over recent decades have led to an increase in non-standard and precarious forms of work, such as temporary employment, multiple job-holding, project-based work, and involuntary self-employment. Therefore, understanding artists' experiences and their strategies for coping with precarious work is crucial for analyzing the broader labor market.
Methodology
The present inquiry identifies the determinants of multiple job-holding among artists by examining the infrastructures of the art goods and services market through a literature review and interviews with experts. The data were collected via a researcher-designed questionnaire from 33 calligraphy artists residing in Mashhad. To establish a well-restricted framework of these determinants, one- and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied, controlling for the effect of the artist’s presence in a prosperous market. This approach clarifies which explanatory variable(s) serve as key determinants in explaining changes in the dependent variable. A notable advantage of this method is its ability to handle variables that are multi-ordered rather than simply binary. Additionally, ANOVA allows for both univariate analysis—testing the explanatory power of changes in a single independent variable—and bivariate analysis, which tests the impact of changes in two independent variables, both individually and in interaction with each other. Overall, the use of ANOVA, particularly in a two-way or, if necessary, multi-way design, enables the researcher to reduce the problem’s dimensions from numerous, potentially correlated, or causally related factors to a limited set of determining factors.
Findings
After accounting for the impact of an artist’s presence in a prosperous market, the vast majority of these infrastructures have independently demonstrated a significant ability to explain differences in the levels of multiple job-holding among calligraphers. Subsequently, with the aim of reducing the complexity of the issue and achieving a well-defined theoretical framework, a two-way ANOVA method was employed, leading to the identification of nine infrastructures as key determinants of multiple job-holding among artists from the 28 reviewed: copyright, access to credit, business startup costs, psychological income, declining demand for calligraphy, the share of government commissions, differences between primary and secondary market characteristics, market thinness, and the role of exhibitions, festivals, and expos.
The findings indicate significant two-way interactions between many of these determinants and the demand-side infrastructures of the market, as well as between financial development and the development of art market infrastructures. There is also a notable interaction between the psychic income derived from artistic activities—often cited as the primary reason artists accept non-artistic jobs—and the market structure, as well as between the declining use of calligraphy and the underdeveloped business environment in explaining artists' multiple job-holding. Additionally, the share of government demand emerges as the most significant factor in explaining artists' multiple job-holding. The marked disparity between the level of institutional development in the mass market versus the deep-pocket market, the extreme thinness of the calligraphy market—even compared to other art markets—and the lack of frequent specialized expos further intensify the incentives for artists to take on multiple jobs.
Discussion and Conclusion
Empirical evidence highlights several determinants of multiple job-holding among artists: the demand-driven nature of these determinants, the weak real-financial mutual linkages (both on the supply side and the demand side of financial services), the connection between market structure infrastructures and psychic income, the exacerbation of negative effects due to the declining use of calligraphy in an underdeveloped business environment, the allocation of government demand without a pre-announced rule, the underdeveloped institutional environment of the mass market, market thinness, and the lack of participation in specialized expos. To address the issue of multiple job-holding among artists, the development of demand-side infrastructures should be prioritized in any agenda for art market development. Additionally, enhancing financial instruments and institutions for development finance in the arts, improving the business environment, reducing barriers to market entry, refining regulations and procedures of the Iran Calligraphers Association to reduce labor market frictions for members, ensuring a fairer distribution of government demand among artists (particularly benefiting young artists in the mass market), and holding specialized expos periodically can all contribute to improving the labor market situation for artists.
Acknowledgment
I extend my gratitude to Naeemeh Aboutorabi for enhancing the fluency of the translation and suggesting suitable Persian equivalents. I also thank Hamidreza Sheshjavani and Mehdi Hajamini for their valuable tips and comments, which significantly improved the quality of this research.