PULLMAN, Wash.—Arzu Aysin Tekindor has never seen "Antiques Roadshow," the PBS television program that routinely subjects artworks and other collectibles to the burning question: What is it worth?
But she has devised an economic model that gets at the underpinnings of the question, breaking down how some paintings sell for astronomical prices, like the record auction price of $120 million fetched by Edward Munch's "The Scream" earlier this week.