Improving Economic Statistics in the Creative Industries : Towards Multi-Regional Creative Industries Satellite Accounts

Lyons, Matthew S and Connolly, Kevin (2024) Improving Economic Statistics in the Creative Industries : Towards Multi-Regional Creative Industries Satellite Accounts. Newcastle University, Newcastle. (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10907689)

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Abstract

Measuring the economic character and contribution of the creative industries (CIs) is increasingly important to policymakers at both the national, regional and local level . In recent years we have seen increased emphasis on the ability of the CIs to catalyse growth, innovation, and export potential in other sectors. There is increasing evidence of the economic potential of CIs outside London and major urban areas with distinct clusters of CI activity present in all corners of the UK, from Video Games in Dundee and Leamington Spa, Fashion in Leeds, to Film & TV in Cardiff and Northern Ireland. Set across a backdrop of regional inequality in the UK and concerted policy efforts to ‘Level Up’ regions that lag behind London and the South East, CIs may have a role in addressing this imbalance. The development of creative clusters has been a clear policy objective in the UK with support and investment in the sector to date informed by DCMS economic estimates of GVA and employment. This poses a problem as the economic evidence is not highly detailed and it fails to consider the regional spillover and feedback effects associated with changes in the economy. Part of the challenge is that the data available for the economic analysis of the CIs is not as straightforward as traditional industries, as some CIs are sub-sectors spread across different standard industrial classifications (SICs) and therefore, partially hidden from national statistics. This report considers what steps would be required to advance the development of the statistics in the CIs. This is achieved through a review of international approaches, stocktaking of the data required and the presentation of an ‘ideal case’ Multi-regional Creative Industries Satellite Account (MR-CISA) for the UK. A MR-CISA developed to cover multiple regions of the UK will allow policy makers to see in more detail the value of CIs to regional economies and model the direct and indirect impact of policy measures and shocks across regions. The regional and sectoral spillovers revealed by a MR-CISA would provide important context to the extent spatially targeted funding decisions critical to the levelling up agenda. There are two key building blocks to developing a MR-CISA. Firstly, developing regional CISAs this reveals regional characteristics but, not the relationships between regions. Secondly, gathering detailed survey data on the inter-industry relationships between creative industries businesses in different regions.

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