Fernando Álvarez-Teresa (p), Rafael Boix-Domènech, Chuan Li

Tasos Kitsos

Since the mid-1990s, the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) have gained prominence as a sector with which to foster the progress of regions. Governments have sought to position themselves as "creative regions" through the elaboration of CCI-based development strategies. International organisations such as UNCTAD, UNESCO y UNPD have also promoted CCIs, encouraging different authorities to implement creative economy plans, and including CCIs in international development strategies. This is the case of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where CCIs are recognised as a cross-cutting element for the achievement of several goals.

At the academic level, studies show that a greater presence of creative industries in a given geographical area has positive effects on per capita income, hourly wage, and labour productivity. They are also considered to have a positive impact on innovation, and to attract skilled labour and high value-added firms where they are located. However, although these impacts are mostly positive, their intensity is not evenly distributed across space. In this sense, there seems to be a positive relationship between the impacts of CCIs and the level of development of the territory in which they are located.

Is it therefore feasible to say that CCIs can foster economic development in all territories? Or, on the contrary, do CCIs function as a sector that increases inequalities between more advanced and developing countries? Following the findings of the literature, this paper hypothesises that, although the economic impact of CCIs is relevant, their distribution across space is not homogeneous. In order to answer these questions and verify the hypothesis, the following research objective is proposed: to quantify the economic impact of CCIs on value added and employment at the national level. To this end, this paper estimates a closed Global Multi-Regional Input-Output Model (GMRIO) using the OECD Inter-Country Input-Output Tables (ICIO) for the year 2018. Based on this model, the total multipliers of CCIs on value added and employment are analysed for a set of 66 countries at different stages of development.

Jordi Sanjuán-belda (p) Rafael Boix-Domènech, Pau Rausell-Köster

Fernando Álvarez-Teresa

In recent years, disruptions ranging from the Great Recession, the Covid-19 crisis and the climate crisis have brought to the surface some of the imbalances in the current economic system and their damaging effects on the well-being of current and future populations, especially in some European regions. This raises the need to redirect regional economies towards new productive models that focus on well-being and are, in turn, capable of meeting the challenges of post-industrial societies and the ecological transition. The cultural and creative industries (CCI) have aroused growing interest in this respect and have been identified, from academic and institutional spheres, as a potential vector for well-being generation. However, there is hardly any widespread quantitative evidence of their causal impacts on multiple dimensions of well-being. In order to fill this gap, an analysis is carried out for 209 European regions using CCI employment data from the Labour Force Survey as the explanatory variable of interest, and a panel of well-being indicators from the regional version of the OECD Better Life Index as dependent variables. The Better Life Index includes 11 dimensions covering issues related to material conditions, quality of life and sustainability of future well-being. After specifying 11 causal models, one for each of the dimensions, causal forests are applied. An optimal fit is obtained for all models except housing and safety. Evidence of positive effects is obtained for most of the dimensions (access to services, civic engagement, community, education, environment, health, housing, income and jobs), while they are not significant on safety and, paradoxically, the effects are negative on life satisfaction. All in all, CCIs are generally able to improve quality of life and objective (but not subjective) regional well-being, although the effects are very heterogeneous and may differ considerably across European regions.

Tasos Kitsos (p), Max Nathan, Diana Gutierrez-Posada

Jordi Sanjuán-belda

An established theoretical and case study literature discusses how the creative industries, and Creative City policies, may drive neighbourhood gentrification. This literature is emotive but inconclusive on the size of these links; whether or not creative activity drives neighbourhood change or follows it; the mechanisms at play; and differences across creative activities and workers, notably the role of artists and ‘the arts’ versus creative services sectors.

This paper seeks to clarify these questions by testing the links between creative industries' presence and changes in residential gentrification and housing costs. We focus at the Output Area spatial scale in England and Wales, using rich microdata on house prices, rents, creative firms and workers as well as a range of controls for the 2000s and 2010s.

We use cross-section, linear probability models and a battery of robustness tests and cross-checks to estimate the relationship between creative activities (firms and workers) and gentrification. Preliminary results show positive but small links between creative industries and gentrification; larger effects for creative workers; and a range of interesting variations by neighbourhood, creative activity and worker type.