The Arts and Culture Industry and Economic Development

Photo Credit: Jenny Warburg for The New York Times <p>A new report has just been released that documents the significant impact the arts and culture industry has on North Carolina’s economy. Many people may be surprised to learn that nonprofit arts and culture generates well over a billion dollars of economic activity annually. The release of the report highlights the value of cultural assets as part of an assets-building approach to community economic development. Investing in and supporting cultural assets not only engenders the type of environment attractive to the the “creative class,”  but it also, as this new report demonstrates, provides economic benefits for the here-and-now.</p> <p></p> <p>A summary of the new report titled  Arts & Economic Prosperity IV: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences in North Carolina can be found on the NC Arts Council website here. Highlights include the finding that nonprofit arts and culture generates $1.24 billion of economic activity annually in North Carolina. This industry is also responsible for 43,605 full-time equivalent jobs in the state. And the economic activity from the arts generates $119 million in state and local revenue.</p> <p>Arguments have been made for some time about the rise of the “creative class” as an engine for regional economic growth and innovation. Richard Florida’s seminal work on the topic was originally published in 2002. Florida argues that “places that succeed in attracting and retaining creative class people prosper; those that fail don’t.” His argument is based on substantial demographic and economic data, and while [...]</p>