Creative Economy Report 2010: Creative industries are stimulating economic recovery

UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) Highlights:

A new development paradigm is emerging that links the economy and culture, embracing economic, cultural, technological and social aspects of development at both the macro and micro levels. Central to the new paradigm is the fact that creativity, knowledge and access to information are increasingly recognized as powerful engines driving economic growth and promoting development in a globalizing world.

This report argues that while the creative economy’s growth is not in itself a panacea, it does potentially offer more resilient, inclusive, and environmentally viable paths to recovery. Even if there is no one-size-fits-all prescription, the report outlines how governments can play a catalytic role by putting in place the policies, regulations, and institutions needed to strengthen their creative economies. Overall, the creative economy sectors can contribute a lot to growth and prosperity, especially for developing countries seeking to diversify their economies and build resilience to future economic crisis.

Global exports of creative goods and services -- products such as arts and crafts, audiovisuals, books, design work, films, music, new media, printed media, visual and performing arts, and creative services — more than doubled between 2002 and 2008, the report notes. The total value of these exports reached US $592 billion in 2008, and the growth rate of the industry over that six-year period averaged 14%.

The report says, moreover, that the creative industries hold great potential for developing countries seeking to diversify their economies and participate in one of the most dynamic sectors of world commerce. The global market already had been boosted by increases in South-South trade in creative products before the recession set it in. The South’s exports of creative goods to the world reached $176 billion in 2008, or 43% of total creative-industries trade.

Adequately nurtured by governments and public and private-sector partnerships, the production, sale, and trade of creative goods can broaden developing-country economies, create a wide variety of jobs, and spur innovation, the CER contends. The report says appropriate institutional and regulatory frameworks are needed to establish a “creative nexus” that attracts investors, technology, and businesses.

Although the global economic recovery is still weak and it is premature to draw definitive conclusions about the recession´s long-term impact on the creative economy, the sector appears to have been relatively “firm” during the crisis, the report says. There also are signs that as recovery takes hold, demand for creative goods may resume its previous brisk growth, as people seem eager for products and services linked to culture, social events, entertainment, and leisure.

Topics explored include the effects of the digital revolution and social networks on unlocking marketing and distribution channels for music, digital animation, films, and related products, and how connectivity is facilitating creative collaboration and new business models.

The report calls for attention to sensitive areas related to intellectual property issues; for a fostering of the relationship between the creative industries and efforts to spur “green” economic growth; and for steps to be taken that will nurture creative capacities in developing nations.

An increasing number of cities, it notes, are using the concept of “creative cities” to design urban development strategies for reinvigorating growth with focus on culture and creative activities. These principles can be adapted for rural areas and disadvantaged communities as a tool for generating jobs, particularly for youth, empowering creative women and promoting social inclusion in line with the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the report says.

The electronic version of the Creative Economy Report – 2010 can be downloaded at www.unctad.org/creative-economy

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