Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option

Many creative enterprises use social network servicesto offer their goods and services to wider audiences, in somecases reaching global markets. By connecting people at lowcost, social networks can help creative entrepreneurs andsmall businesses expand their business contacts and clientsas well as promote their brands. Indeed, brand networkingis an increasingly popular way to capitalize on social trendsas a marketing tool. 7 These networks often act as a customerrelationship management tool for companies selling productsand services. Companies can also use social networksfor advertising in the form of banners and text ads. Sincemany businesses operate globally, social networks can makeit easier to keep in touch with contacts around the world.Reciprocity, collaboration and transparency in communicationsare fundamental in the creative economy, and newplatforms such as blogs, forums and wikis are useful toolsfor facilitating connectivity among creative people, productsand places.3.3 Economic analysis of the creative industriesThe creative industries make a significant contributionto national economies and at the global level. However, thebreadth of the concept and the varied perceptions about howto define and delimit the creative economy make it difficultto identify or agree upon reliable and comparable economicindicators that capture its economic, cultural, social andtechnological dimensions. A fresh look is needed to bettergrasp the overall dynamics of this sector, which values creativity,experience, autonomy, diversity, flexibility, self-motivation,collaboration and networking. Therefore, rather thanapply the same quantitative macro-economic indicators usedfor traditional sectors, we need to invent more appropriatetools, as noted earlier in this report. In theory, four groups ofeconomic indicators might eventually be applied, if data wereavailable, to assess the impact of the creative industries onnational economies:■■■■primary economic impact: measures direct contribution to theeconomy, using GDP and employment figures;second economic impact: measures indirect quantifiable contribution,as activities in the creative industries inducespin-offs in other sectors (multiplier effect);tertiary economic impact: measures direct yet less quantifiablecontributions resulting from innovations in the creativeindustries that spill over into other sectors;quaternary economic impact: measures indirect, non-quantifiablecontributions to quality of life, education and culturalidentity.A number of methodological approaches may beadopted in undertaking economic analysis of the creativeindustries. The most common of these are basic industrialorganization analysis, value-chain analysis, inter-industryanalysis, locational analysis, copyright and intellectualproperty, and contract theory.3.3.1 Industrial organization analysisThe most basic form of economic analysis is to measurethe standard economic variables for which data are routinelycollected for all industries by statistical agencies: grossvalue of production, value added, fixed capital formation, levelsof employment of different categories of labour, businessconcentration and so on. This enables the structure, conductand performance analyses to be carried out according to thetraditional methods of industrial organization theory. Studiesof the economic contribution of creative industries may be ofvalue as a means of demonstrating, for example, that they arenot some minor economic backwater but account for a largerproportion of GDP than the casual observer might haveimagined.3.3.2 Value-chain analysisOne of the most straightforward and widely recognizedmethods for analysing the structure and function ofthe creative industries is value-chain analysis. In its simplestform, the analytical model of the creative production chainis one where the initial creative ideas are combined with otherinputs to produce a creative good or service that may thenpass through further value-adding stages until it enters mar-3Analysing the creative economy7 Frase & Dutra (2008).CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 201077