Copyright © United Nations 2008 All rights reserved UNCTAD/DITC/2008/2 ISBN 978-0-9816619-0-2 Material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted as long as acknowledgement is provided with a reference to the source. A copy of the publication containing the quotation or reprint should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat at: Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, and to the UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, 1 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017 USA. This Report is the fruit of a collaborative effort that was led by UNCTAD and the UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation and that included a team of experts from the collaborating UN agencies – UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, WIPO and ITC – as well as international consultants. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The English version of the full report and the French and Spanish versions of its overview section are currently available on the Internet at the addresses indicated below: http://www.unctad.org/creative-economy and http://ssc.undp.org/creative_economy ii CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 2008 Foreword The world economy has clearly seen an Globalization and connectivity are new extraordinary expansion in the past five years. realities that have brought profound changes in This expansion has been more broadly based lifestyles worldwide. This is reshaping the overall than ever before, allowing many developing pattern of cultural production, consumption and countries to benefit from it. Even some of the trade in a world increasingly filled with images, least developed countries have been able to gen- sounds, texts and symbols. There is a clear need to erate average annual GDP growth of more than better grasp the complex interactions among the 5 per cent, representing significant progress over economic, cultural, technological and social that made in the 1990s. Nevertheless, this path aspects guiding the dynamics of the world econ- of economic growth has not yet been sufficient omy and the way people live in the twenty-first to ensure the welfare and decent living standards century. In this era of transformation, creativity for the large majority of people in the develop- and knowledge are fast becoming powerful means ing world. Despite efforts to diversify their of fostering development gains. 1 economies, 86 of 44 developing countries still In this context, the interface among cre- depend on commodities for more than half ativity, culture, economics and technology, as their export earnings. Prevailing development expressed in the ability to create and circulate strategies have yet to succeed in generating intellectual capital, has the potential to generate expected levels of socio-economic development income, jobs and export earnings while at the for these countries. The challenge is to find fea- same time promoting social inclusion, cultural sible development options that take into diversity and human development. This is what account their specific realities and in particular the emerging creative economy has already their scarcity of skilled labour, lack of basic begun to do as a leading component of eco- infrastructure and very low levels of foreign nomic growth, employment, trade, innovation direct investment. How to promote development and social cohesion in most advanced that is both sustainable and inclusive? economies. The creative economy also seems to As economic models do not function in be a feasible option for developing countries. If isolation, the time has come to go beyond effective public policies are in place, the creative economics and look for a more holistic develop- economy generates cross-cutting linkages with ment approach that considers their different the overall economy at macro and micro levels. cultural identities, economic aspirations, social It thus fosters a development dimension, offering disparities and technological disadvantages. new opportunities for developing countries to Development strategies also must be updated in leapfrog into emerging high-growth areas of the order to cope with the far-reaching cultural and world economy. technological shifts under way in our society. The The creative This study is the first to present the economy has world needs to adapt to this new environment by perspectives of the United Nations on this bringing issues relating to culture and technology the potential exciting new topic. The creative economy is an to generate into the mainstream of economic development evolving concept centred on the dynamics of the income and jobs thinking. Achieving the Millennium Development creative industries. There is no single definition while promoting Goals calls for dealing with cross-cutting of the creative economy nor is there a consensus social inclusion, development issues by introducing concerted as to the set of knowledge-based economic activ- cultural diversity Foreword multidisciplinary policies and reinforcing policy ities on which the creative industries are based. and human coherence at the national and international levels. There is no one-size-fits-all recipe but rather, flexible development CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 2008 iii and strategic choices to be made by national industry boom, particularly in Asia. governments in order to optimize the benefits of Unfortunately, however, the large majority of their creative economies for development. developing countries are not yet able to harness At the heart of the creative economy lie their creative capacities for development. In the creative industries. Loosely defined, the cre- Africa, for instance, despite the abundance of ative industries are at the crossroads of the arts, creative talents, the creative potential remains culture, business and technology. In other words, highly underutilized. The continent’s share in they comprise the cycle of creation, production global trade of creative products remains mar- 1 and distribution of goods and services that use ginal at less than per cent of world exports intellectual capital as their primary input. Today’s despite sharp increases. As is the case for other creative industries involve the interplay of tradi- developing regions, this is a reflection of both tional, technology-intensive and service-oriented domestic policy weaknesses and global subsectors. They range from folk art, festivals, systemic biases. music, books, paintings and performing arts to The policy-oriented analysis presented in more technology-intensive subsectors such as the this Report represents an initial contribution to film industry, broadcasting, digital animation developing a better understanding of the key and video games, and more service-oriented issues underlying the creative economy and its This Report fields such as architectural and advertising services. development dimension. The Report addresses provides empirical All these activities are intensive in creative skills the challenge of assessing the creative economy evidence that the and can generate income through trade and with a view to informed policy-making by creative industries intellectual property rights. outlining the conceptual, institutional and policy are among the This Report provides empirical evidence framework in which this economy is flourishing. most dynamic that the creative industries are among the most Given the multifaceted nature of the creative emerging sectors dynamic emerging sectors in world trade. Over economy, strategic choices for concerted in world trade the period 2000-2005, trade in creative goods interministerial policy action are crucial. The and services increased at an unprecedented aver- important implications of multilateral processes age annual rate of 8.7 per cent. World exports in shaping policies for the creative economy also of creative products were valued at $424.4 warrant consideration. billion in 2005 as compared to $227.5 billion This Report is an example of coopera- in 1996, according to preliminary UNCTAD tion inside the United Nations system, com- figures. Creative services in particular enjoyed prising contributions from five international rapid export growth – 8.8 per cent annually organizations: UNCTAD, UNDP via its between 1996 and 2005. This positive trend Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, occurred in all regions and groups of countries UNESCO, WIPO and ITC. It is a joint endeav- The large majority and is expected to continue into the next our that builds on complementarities in order to of developing decade, assuming that the global demand for enhance the effectiveness of international coop- countries are creative goods and services continues to rise. eration and policy coherence in this innovative not yet able to It is clear that developed countries still field. The creative economy is producing new harness their dominate the global market for creative products. opportunities for both developed and developing creative capacities Nonetheless, many developing-country prod- countries, but the challenges ahead should not be for development ucts are already benefiting from the creative underestimated. Supachai Panitchpakdi Kemal Dervis Secretary-General Administrator United Nations Conference on Trade and Development United Nations Development Programme Foreword iv CREATIVE ECONOMY REPORT 2008 Acknowledgements The Creative Economy Report 2008 is the Organization (WIPO) and