This report presents the 2015 edition of the Global Creativity Index,
or GCI. The GCI is a broad-based measure for advanced economic
growth and sustainable prosperity based on the 3Ts of economic development
talent, technology, and tolerance. It rates and ranks 139 nations worldwide on each of these dimensions and on our overall measure of creativity and prosperity.
NYU Study Uncovers the Keys to Keeping NYC Competitive: Innovation, Creativity & Investment
Beyond the interventions that Sampson describes, we need an urban policy that is attuned to this new reality—and that can help to change it. What we need is a new growth model that is as ambitious and as far-reaching as our post-World War II commitment was to creating a middle class. We need to re-knit the safety net and ensure that everyone has access to good, family-supporting jobs that are the equivalents of my father’s factory job.
The Rise of the Creative Class, which was originally published in 2002, has generated widespread conversation and debate and has had a considerable impact on economic development policy and practice. This essay briefly recaps the key tenants of the creative class theory of economic development, discusses the key issues in the debate over it, and assesses its impacts on economic development policy.
This research examines the factors
that shape the happiness of cities, whereas much of the existent literature has focused on the happiness of nations. It is argued that in
addition to income, which has been found to shape national-level happiness, human capital levels will play an important role in the
happiness of cities. Metropolitan-level data from the 2009 Gallup–Healthways Survey are used to examine the effects of human capital on city happiness, controlling for other factors. The findings suggest that human capital plays the central role in the happiness
of cities, outperforming income and every other variable.
Our research examines the role of post-industrial structures and values on happiness across the nations of the world. We argue that these structures and values shape happiness in ways
that go beyond the previously examined effects of income. Our analysis explores whether income has different effects on countries at different stages of economic development. Our
results indicate that post-industrial structures and values have a stronger effect on happiness in higher income countries, where the standard of living has surpassed a certain level. Income,
on the other hand, has a stronger impact on happiness in low-income countries.
The economic crisis contributed to sharp increases in US unemployment rates for all three of the major socio-economic classes. Results from regression models using individual-level data from the 2006–2011 US Current Population Surveys indicate that members of the Creative Class had a lower probability of being unemployed over this period than individuals
in the Service and Working Classes and that the impact of having a creative occupation became more beneficial in the 2 years following the recession. These patterns, if they continue,
are suggestive of a structural change occurring in the US economy—one that favours knowledge-based creative activities.
Where do musicians locate, and why do creative industries such as music continue to
cluster? This paper analyzes the economic geography of musicians and the recording industry in the US from 1970 to 2000, to shed light on the locational dynamics of music and creative industries more
broadly.
The geographic clustering of economic activity has long been understood in terms of economies of scale across space. This paper introduces the construct of geographies of scope, which we argue is driven by substantial, large-scale geographic concentrations of related skills, inputs and capabilities. We examine this through an empirical analysis of the entertainment industry across US metropolitan areas from 1970 to
2000.
China is currently seeking to transform its economic structure from a traditional industrial to a more innovative, human-capital driven, and knowledge-based economy. Our research examines the effects of three key factors on Chinese regional development in an attempt to gauge to what degree China has transformed from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy, based on higher
levels of (1) technology and innovation, (2) human capital and knowledge/professional/creative
occupations, and (3) factors like tolerance, universities, and amenities which act on the flow of the first two. We employ structural equation models to gauge the effects of these factors on the economic performance of Chinese regions. Our research generates four key findings.
