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.

The emerging creative economy has become a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade and innovation, and social cohesion in most advanced economies. Unfortunately, however, the large majority of developing countries are not yet able to harness their creative capacity for development. This is a reflection of weaknesses both in domestic policy and in the business environment, and global systemic biases. Nevertheless, the creative economy offers to developing countries a feasible option and new opportunities to leapfrog into emerging high-growth areas of the world economy.

This Report is the first to present the perspectives of the United Nations as a whole on this exciting new topic. It provides empirical evidence that the creative industries are among the most dynamic emerging sectors in world trade. It also shows that the interface among creativity, culture, economics and technology, as expressed in the ability to create and circulate intellectual capital, has the potential to generate income, jobs and export earnings while at the same time contributing to social inclusion, cultural diversity and human development.

This Report addresses the challenge of assessing the creative economy with a view to informed policy-making by outlining the conceptual, institutional and policy framework in which this economy can flourish.

Overview:

The Creative Economy Report 2008 is the first study to present the United Nations perspective on this emerging topic. It is an initiative of the partnership between UNCTAD and the UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation. Furthermore, it is a pioneer example of the work being undertaken by the Multi-Agency Informal Dialogue Group on Creative Industries.1 It brings together contributions from five relevant United Nations bodies: UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, WIPO and ITC. This collective effort not only contributes to building synergy and exploring complementarities but also is an effective way to advance policy coherence and enhance the impact of international actions in the area of the creative economy and creative industries.

Creativity, culture and economic development

In the contemporary world, 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.

“Creativity” in this context refers to the formulation of new ideas and to the application of these ideas to produce original works of art and cultural products, functional creations, scientific inventions and technological innovations. There is thus an economic aspect to creativity, observable in the way it contributes to entrepreneurship, fosters innovation, enhances productivity and promotes economic growth.

Creativity is found in all societies and countries – rich or poor, large or small, advanced or developing. The word “creativity” is associated with originality, imagination, inspiration, ingenuity and inventiveness. It is an inner characteristic of individuals to be imaginative and express ideas; associated with knowledge, these ideas are the essence of intellectual capital. Similarly, every society has its stock of intangible cultural capital articulated by people’s identity and values. Civilizations since time immemorial have been aware of these concepts. However, the twenty-first century has seen a growing understanding of the interface between creativity, culture and economics, the rationale behind the emerging concept of the “creative economy”.

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Creative Economy Report 2008: The challenge of assessing the creative economy towards informed policy-making

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UNCTAD/DITC/2008/2
ISBN 978-0-9816619-0-2

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Forward:

The world economy has clearly seen an extraordinary expansion in the past five years. This expansion has been more broadly based than ever before, allowing many developing countries to benefit from it. Even some of the least developed countries have been able to generate average annual GDP growth of more than 5 per cent, representing significant progress over that made in the 1990s. Nevertheless, this path of economic growth has not yet been sufficient to ensure the welfare and decent living standards for the large majority of people in the developing world. Despite efforts to diversify their economies, 86 of 144 developing countries still depend on commodities for more than half their export earnings.

Prevailing development strategies have yet to succeed in generating expected levels of socio-economic development for these countries. The challenge is to find feasible development options that take into account their specific realities and in particular their scarcity of skilled labour, lack of basic infrastructure and very low levels of foreign direct investment. How to promote development that is both sustainable and inclusive?

As economic models do not function in isolation, the time has come to go beyond economics and look for a more holistic development approach that considers their different cultural identities, economic aspirations, social disparities and technological disadvantages.

Development strategies also must be updated in order to cope with the far-reaching cultural and technological shifts under way in our society. The world needs to adapt to this new environment by bringing issues relating to culture and technology into the mainstream of economic development thinking. Achieving the Millennium Development Goals calls for dealing with cross-cutting development issues by introducing concerted multidisciplinary policies and reinforcing policy coherence at the national and international levels.

Globalization and connectivity are new realities that have brought profound changes in lifestyles worldwide. This is reshaping the overall pattern of cultural production, consumption and trade in a world increasingly filled with images, sounds, texts and symbols. There is a clear need to better grasp the complex interactions among the economic, cultural, technological and social aspects guiding the dynamics of the world economy and the way people live in the twenty-first century. In this era of transformation, creativity and knowledge are fast becoming powerful means of fostering development gains.

In this context, the interface among creativity, culture, economics and technology, as expressed in the ability to create and circulate intellectual capital, has the potential to generate income, jobs and export earnings while at the same time promoting social inclusion, cultural diversity and human development. This is what the emerging creative economy has already begun to do as a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade, innovation and social cohesion in most advanced economies. The creative economy also seems to be a feasible option for developing countries. If effective public policies are in place, the creative economy generates cross-cutting linkages with the overall economy at macro and micro levels.

It thus fosters a development dimension, offering new opportunities for developing countries to leapfrog into emerging high-growth areas of the world economy.

This study is the first to present the perspectives of the United Nations on this exciting new topic. The creative economy is an evolving concept centred on the dynamics of the creative industries. There is no single definition of the creative economy nor is there a consensus as to the set of knowledge-based economic activities on which the creative industries are based.

There is no one-size-fits-all recipe but rather, flexible and strategic choices to be made by national governments in order to optimize the benefits of their creative economies for development. ...

This Report is an example of cooperation inside the United Nations system, comprising contributions from five international organizations: UNCTAD, UNDP via its Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, UNESCO, WIPO and ITC. It is a joint endeavour that builds on complementarities in order to enhance the effectiveness of international cooperation and policy coherence in this innovative field. The creative economy is producing new opportunities for both developed and developing countries, but the challenges ahead should not be underestimated.

Supachai Panitchpakdi
Secretary-General
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Kemal Dervis
Administrator
United Nations Development Programme

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