How could two cities (Florence and Siena) of such apparently similar ethnic, religious, political, and social backgrounds provide such divergent artistic traditions of such long duration in such close proximity? It is the purpose of this paper to examine this question with the perspective of economic theory. Section I describes the economic model of monopsony. Section II and III apply this model to the arts markets in Florence and Siena between 1300 and 1500. A final section compares the results and offers some generalizations. (p. 34)

[For a comment on this article, see Comment on The Florentine and Sienese Renaissance: A 
 Monopsonistic Explanation.]