Global Convergence and the Challenges to Cultural Policy

The creative economy, centred on the creative or cultural industries, is rapidly becoming recognized as a significant contributor to employment, trade and economic growth in the economies of both industrialized and developing countries. This paper outlines the structure of the creative economy and discusses the positive and negative aspects of the creative industries’ role in the large macroeconomy. The paper goes on to consider the ways in which policies towards the cultural industries have evolved under conditions of globalization, and concludes with and assertion of the core role of the arts and of the generation of cultural value in any policy strategy.