Why creative economy?
Creative economy results from the synergy of human creativity, mobility, technological advances and human
interest in humanization of society, which creates conditions for growing capacity to accept products of creative
activities.
From a historical perspective, the factors and consequences of creative economy are not new. Yet current
economic, social and societal conditions make their impact on society stronger. Particularly the economic crisis
showed the positive effects of the creativity factor. Creative economy is presently subject of study in several
branches of science, dealing – among other things - with the design of new models based on non-linear dynamic
economic systems, since economic crises result when linear systems hit critical values.
Creativity – as represented by an idea – becomes an equally significant input into production as capital or labour.
The creativity factor is a limitless yet hard-to-define source. Traditional laws of economy (as formulated by, for
example, P. A. Samuelson and W. D. Nordhaus) are based on the assumption that resources available to society
are limited. They define economic scarcity. On the other hand, creativity as an input factor refers to new economic
laws when it is no longer possible to predict the impact on society using traditional models. At present, we may
say that the impact of creativity on economy is not random. At the same time, the amount and limit values of
productivity of capital is not an important factor for creativity. There is also the assumption that rising interest
rates may stimulate growth in outputs of the creative sector. Therefore, there is a real option to influence the
traditional economic laws also through traditional tools and institutions such as central banks. It must also be
noted that the growth of creativity as a significant input into production has been observed primarily in societies in
which people do not struggle to meet their elementary human needs.
The term creative industries is closely linked to the term cultural industries which came to be used more widely as
early as in the first half of 20 th century. In 1980's in Great Britain the term creative industries started to be used in
wider sense. Currently the topic of creative industries is subject of several studies. As examples of major concepts
it is possible to mention the creativity momentum factor (Charles David Throsby), the cultural production
communication factor (David Hesmondhalgh), the information and communication technologies factor (John
Hartley), the intellectual property factor (John Howkins), the expressive value factor (Work Foundation), or the
occupation factor (Richard Florida; creative class theory). The book The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard
Florida published in 2003 made a significant introduction to the topic for the wider public. His research confirmed
that presence of creative people living and working in a city has direct impact on the city’s attractiveness,
economic productivity and competitiveness. In his further research he pointed out that the share of creative class
in America rose from 10 to 30 per cent over the last decade of 20th century. Another prominent expert on creative
economy is John Howkins who, in his book The Creative Economy in 2001, defined creative industries through the
perspective of intellectual property rights in four forms: copyrights, patents, trademarks, and design industries.
Howkins sees creative economy through two complementary values of a creative product: intellectual ownership
and value of the platform, which carries the result of intellectual creative activity.
The United Kingdom is considered the first country in which creative industries became institutionalised and
included in top-level political strategic documents. The first report on the state of creative industries in Great
Britain was produced in 1998 and has since then been regularly updated. The definition of creative industries
includes also the listing of individual industries. In Great Britain, the term creative industries covers advertising,
architecture, arts and antiques market, computer games and videogames, crafts, design, fashion design, film and
video, music, performance arts, publishing, software development, and radio and television broadcasting.
In Slovakia, we may take as the starting point the definitions used in official policies of other countries or
international organisations [e.g. Department of Culture, Media and Sport - Staying Ahead. The Economic
Performance of the UK’s Creative Industries (2007); WIPO - Guide on Surveying the Economic Contribution of the
Copyright-based Industries; European Commission – The Economy of Culture (2006); European Commission - The
impact of culture on creativity (June 2009)].
For example, the definition used by the European Commission appears in the Economy of Culture study of 2006.
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By that definition, the whole area divides into cultural and creative sectors. The cultural sector comprises
traditional arts (fine and performance arts, cultural heritage) and cultural industries (film, audiovisual production,
television and radio broadcasting, computer games, music, publishing). The creative sector comprises creative
industries (design, architecture and advertising) and related areas (e.g.. software development and production of
hardware – personal computers, players, telephones).
Source: European Commission – The Economy of Culture (2006)
In Slovakia, to get a better understanding of the structure of creative industries, the areas may be divided
according to the nature of goods and services dealt with:
 culture and arts,
 areas using outputs of creative activities (e.g. advertising, design, entertainment),
 area of sale of or creating access to the goods and services from previous two areas for the consumers
(e.g. production of hardware, electronic communication, archiving, information services).
Creative industry may also be characterised by vertical structure, from designing (or performing) the object of
intellectual property rights protection, through its processing and production to dissemination – including provision
of access, and up to repeat exploitation, also beyond the territory of the country of origin. Horizontally, the
creative industries cover music, fine arts, theatre, book arts including publishing, film, audiovisual arts, advertising,
design, architecture, broadcasting, internet, electronic services, as well as entertainment including computer and
console games, along the structure: design - production - distribution - redesign.
In terms of statistics, in Slovakia we may use the NACE code structure for the creative industries [e.g. Creative
Industries Switzerland (2008), Culture and Creative Industries in Germany (2009)], which are based on the
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framework set in 2000 for statistics in area of culture (eight areas: arts and cultural heritage, archives, libraries,
books and publishing, fine arts, architecture, theatre arts, audiovisual arts and audiovisual media/multimedia and
six functions - preservation, creation, production, distribution, consumption and education). In 2009, the ESSnetCulture network was created under the auspices of Eurostat, which should help create a comparable data
structure in the European Union and which should deal with a methodological framework for statistics in areas of
culture, cultural and creative industries, public and private expenditures for culture, and the social impact of
culture.
The Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic introduced the structure for statistical data relevant to creative
industries for the first time at the Freedom of Creativity Conference, held on 19th November 2009 in Bratislava
under the auspices of the Delegation of the European Commission in Slovakia. The goal of the conference was to
demonstrate to the public the breadth of the topic from education, science and research, through arts and cultural
industry to the industry itself. The conference and its outputs may be considered the first step toward gaining
coherent data needed for deeper analysis of how creative industry may impact Slovak economy. The topic
continued with the conference SHAPING THE FUTURE “Creativity and Innovations as Starting Points for the
Development of Cities in the Eastern Slovakia Region” which was held on 9th-10th September 2010 in Košice. That
conference aimed, among other things, to present sample projects, strategies, and models for creative industries
from all over Europe and their impact on cities, to draw attention to the issue of intellectual property rights
enforcement, and to present experience and stories of people from creative industries. The conference was
attended by several international experts, such as the Executive Director of CIDA (Creative Industries
Development Agency) Keith Evans (Great Britain), scientist and project manager from Leibniz-Institute for
Regional Geography Leipzig (Leipzig) Bastian Lange PhD. (Germany), and Bernd Fesel (Germany) – consultant for
creative industries in the project RUHR.2010 – European Capital of Culture.
According to the European Commission study, the creative sector grew 12.3 per cent faster than other economies
in the 1999 to 2003 period and it makes up 2.6 per cent of GDP (as compared, for example, with 2.1 per cent of
GDP for the production of food, beverages and tobacco products). This fact can be seen also in the chart showing
the development of sales in the creative industries sector in Slovakia, which was prepared by the Statistical Office
of the Slovak Republic using monitored statistical information from select fields.
10,0%
14 000 000
9,0%
12 000 000
8,0%
7,0%
10 000 000
6,0%
8 000 000
5,0%
6 000 000
4,0%
3,0%
4 000 000
2,0%
2 000 000
1,0%
0
0,0%
199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Development of sales in cultural industries sector in Slovakia
Source: Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic (2011)
The significance of creative industries from the perspective of the European Union is demonstrated also by the fact
that the year 2009 was declared the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, in order to emphasize the
importance of innovations and the need for supporting creativity for the benefit of Europe's future. In April 2010,
the Green Paper on "Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries” was published for consultations. It
was designed to encourage discussion about the need for creating an environment stimulating for the
development of culture and creative industries. The foundation for designing stimulation tools for the creative
industries is formed by the definitions given in the green paper, which under “cultural industry” in the context of
cultural expression (according to UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of
Cultural Expressions) include also fields responsible for production and distribution of such goods or services,
which are at their development stage considered goods and services of special nature, for special use or purpose
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and which embody or communicate cultural expression independently of any commercial value they may have.
Apart from traditional arts such as theatre, fine arts, or cultural heritage, this includes also film and audiovisual
arts, television and radio, computer games, new media, music, literature, and publishing. “Creative industries”
then include also areas in which products of cultural industries are used as inputs, even if their outputs are
predominantly functional - such as architecture and design, which combine creative elements in wider context, as
well as sub-fields such as graphic design, fashion design or advertising. In wider sense, but beyond the scope of
the term used in the green paper, creative industries include also tourism and new technologies including ICT. The
Expert Working Group on maximising the potential of Cultural and Creative Industries, in particular that of SMEs
(small and medium enterprises) gives recommendations in its Final Report dated 3 rd June 2010 based on eight
major lines, as presented by the chart below.
Source: Final report, OMC – Expert Working Group on maximising the potential of Cultural and Creative Industries,
in particular that of SMEs, 2010
The focus on creative industries or the principles of creative economy needs to be included also in documents
basic to development at the regional level.
For example, creative industries already form a part of the Strategic Plan for the Economic and Social
Development of the Capital of Bratislava for the period 2010 to 2020. As part of the knowledge economy section,
there is a goal to make Bratislava a city of culture and creative industries. The specific measures are diverse, from
including tools to support creative industries in policies and city plans (development of the city creative index,
analysis of creative potential of the city, designing projects to support creative industries), through the primary
support of projects focusing on restoration and use of cultural heritage present in Bratislava. There is also a
program to develop conditions for making the city and region more attractive to audiovisual industry, cluster
support to arts and systematic support to independent cultural venues, as well as measures to support the
development of information technologies. Also the Updated Strategic Plan for the Economic and Social
Development of Košice for the period 2008-2015: ”The city of Košice is a sought-after international center of
culture and tourism focusing on culture. Cultural and creative industries form an important part of the city's
economy. In this context the project Košice2013, capital of culture is significant. The title of the European capital
of culture 2013 was won by the city of Košice after successful presentation of the project titled " Košice Interface
2013“. Košice is historically the first Slovak city to have achieved this title and the winning project of Košice offers
a vision for the development of the city and the region in all aspects, with an emphasis on sustainable economic
growth through higher-quality cultural infrastructure, addition of missing cultural offerings, working with the
community, supporting education in the area of culture, and through increasing the attractiveness of the city with
European public. The project follows, among other things, the motto by Richard Florida, “One of the main goals of
cities is to generate, attract and keep creative and innovative talent.“
At the national level, creative industries are mentioned in the details of the Program of the Slovak Government for
the years 2010-2014 prepared by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic , section 3.5 Culture. According to
this document, the Ministry of Culture is going to ensure that by the end of 2012 the Slovak Government will
support initiatives focusing on creativity and development of synergies between culture, education, and industries.
It is also going to design a cross-cutting state support program for this area. In this regard, the Ministry of Culture
is expected – as per the Activity Plan of the Slovak Government – to present the Concept for supporting cultural
and creative industries in the Slovak Republic in 2011. The Ministry of Culture created a working group towards
this goal.
The fact is that Slovakia is strongly characterised by aspects of creative industries formulated by John Hartley
(Creative Industries, 2005), such as impossibility to include them in the chain of traditional industries, inability to
identify creative industries as such, or the impossibility of coordination in professional associations. Practical
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experience has shown that without knowing the relevant indicators for creative industries as a part of national
economy, it is very difficult to talk about creative industries as a separate industry worthy of special attention,
despite the fact that it represents a partly horizontal cross-section of traditional industries. This axiom holds true in
the case of Slovak creative industries, aimed at direct consumption by consumers, and partly limited by such
factors as the language barrier and social-historic context of society’s or subculture’s development. At the same
time, this particular characteristic represents a significant advantage in terms of protecting diversity at the time of
globalisation and is something of a value added for creative industries with its own economic value.
The creative industries cannot be developed continuously without emphasis on corporate social responsibility. The
Green Paper: Promoting a European framework for corporate social responsibility prescribes that individual
European policies implement rules through engagement of the "private sector” into decision-making. It also aims
to highlight social responsibility of companies by moving from regulatory practice to self-regulatory or coregulatory mechanisms. The planned modifications to rights, duties, and conditions in the creative industries in
Europe are essentially directed at strengthening the position of this segment, including minimisation of regulation
and elimination of administrative barriers.
Conclusions:
Why creative industries?
 creative industries generally cross sectors with minimal territorial limitations,
 Slovakia has the creative potential to develop the creative industries,
 taking into consideration also the limited natural resources, it is fitting to focus on such type of
economy which is independent of exhaustible resources.
In view of the developments in legal and economic spheres, the progress of creative industries in the Slovak
Republic is going to be essentially determined by key adequate cross-cutting activities:
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self-reflection of the environment – “becoming aware” of mutual relationships which are capable of
creating a sustainable economic environment,
collection of data to create a picture on the scope, impact, and stability of creative industries in the
economic environment,
finding the ideal approach to market demands or to accepting the influence of elites,
popularisation of creative industries as such,
increasing consumer awareness that support to innovation is meaningful as well as demand for value
added products,
increasing the role of education, science and research in the process of developing creative potential of
the population,
setting up of strategic and political materials in the country,
setting up of primary tools for supporting creative industries in order to allow for production of the
designed/created work,
reducing regulation and administrative barriers; creating space for self-regulation and co-regulation.
The role of the state in processes related to creative economy is to create conditions for natural development of
creativity, to support innovative and pilot projects, creative education, networking and education towards quality
and freedom of choice. Any positive development of creative economy must be preceded by a decision (ideally
based on consensus) of political elites on the direction and future character of the country.
Slavomíra SALAJOVÁ, Bratislava, March 2011
Bibliography:
[Cikánek, M. (2009) Kreativní průmysly – přiležitost pro novou ekonomiku (Institut umění)]
[Kloudová, J. A kolektív (2010) Kreativní ekonomika (Eurokódex)]
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