Culture, Creativity and Local Development

Sylvie Pflieger

University Paris Descartes11th International Academic Conference

on Economic and Social Development, Moscow, April 8th, 2010

The relevance of the cultural activities• At any level:

– New employment sources (1.5 to 2.5% - and 5 to 7.5% according to the criteria)

– From intrinsic to extrinsic values of culture

• At the national level– International trade patterns highlight the growing

importance of cultural products. – Cultural exception and diversity– Soft power

• At the local level– Quality of life– Cultural tourism– New economic base for cultural products

Outline

• The tourism dimension

• The production of cultural products and services

• The attractivity of the local area

• Cultural behaviors in favour of local economic development

I.The Tourism Dimension (1)

It mainly deals with the drawing power of cultural activities

The economic potential of culture for the territory is similar to an export potential, except that in this case it is not the product but the consumer that moves

Some examples: Bilbao Cultural Quarter : 1,000 Jobs: London Theaters: 41,000 Jobs; Museums in Paris : 80.000 Jobs (The Louvre: From 12,000 to

22,000 jobs)

The Tourism Dimension (2)

Monuments (Pyramides, Taj Mahal)Museums (Ermitage, Uffizi)Live arts (Avignon, Salzburg)Markets for visual arts (Basel, Venice)

The Tourism Dimension (3): Conditions for Success

Their permanence The degree of participation by local people in addition to

tourists The territory's capacity to produce all the goods and

services demanded on these occasions. The effects of a cultural activity will be greater for territories of larger size and population density

The interdependence of the cultural activities, taking advantage in this way of "crowding-in” effects

The Tourism Dimension (4): Main Issues

Consumer motivation: What is a cultural tourist?

Diversion and crowding out Price effects: Negative multipliers Life-cycle: The Decline of a Monumental

Area

II. The Production of Cultural Products (1)

It mainly deals with the power to create new cultural goods and services that will be sold beyond the territory and thus bring in new revenues (e.g.: cultural industries).

The global economy increases opportunities for diversity by offering broader markets for specific products

Examples: In terms of products (Arts and Crafts, Fashion, Design,

Architecture, etc.); In terms of localization (L.A., Murano, Limoges).

.The Production of Cultural Products (2): Conditions for success

– Beyond the tangible factors of production often substitutable and mobile, there are intangible factors rooted in the territory. Then a cultural product reflects specific conditions of production

– The power to create new cultural goods and services that will be sold beyond the territory will depend on their capacity to transmit and adapt specific local know-how; on their ability to balance the dimensions of production with those of marketing; and on the possibility of winning recognition for their originality.

III. The Attractivity

• The conditions for a better local life– A very traditional argument– The traditional role of public arts and heritage conservation– From Brownfields to new Cultural urban landscapes

• The attractivity of the companies?– New arrival versus delocalization– Non convincing proofs on the basis of European studies (mainly

communication and qualified skills matter)

• The attractivity of the creative class?– The Florida interpretation– Main debate: endogenity

IV. Dissemination of New Behaviours

The contribution of cultural activities to development will depend on their capacity to produce and disseminate values and reference points that will encourage players, individually or collectively, to think to the future, to devise new plans and projects, and to pool their strenghts (Social capital, social inclusion, creativity)

New organizations and practices