NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, April 28, 2005

The U.N. estimates that the creative industries — which encompass a wide range of activities, from the movie and music industries to fashion and computer software — represent seven percent of global GDP, the equivalent of 1.3 billion dollars this year. It is also a sector that is growing at a faster rate than the world economy in general.
In the United States, Miguez noted, the intellectual property sector accounts for eight percent of GDP and generates employment for 12 percent of the country’s labour force.
The industrialised countries currently dominate the creative economy. The four leaders in the sector — the United States, Japan, Germany and Britain — control over half of the international trade in cultural products.
The ICCI will particularly benefit the developing world, by providing information on this relatively unknown sector and promoting public policies, training and the exchange of experiences, as well as identifying and organising markets.
In the developing nations, there is a great deal of creativity with the potential to be converted into economic assets, said Gil.
Story found here.