• Jason Potts, Lucy Montgomery, Guo Yong
• Asian Creative Transformations - Podcast Series

GO TO

07 September 2011In the 3rd of the salons with visiting ‘cultural and creative industries’ economists from the PRC, these speakers examined the key propositions of Li Wuwei’s new book: How Creativity is Changing China. In the English version of the book Li argues persuasively that China should transform its economic structure from labour-intensive industries to new sectors that are more capital, human capital and knowledge intensive. Among these sectors he pays particular attention to creative industries. In the wake of the current rebound of the GFC this raises the questions of how such industries might transform social conditions in developing countries (including India, Brazil). Will stimulation of CI sectors and associated regional policy induce consumers to change their behaviour, to worry less about saving for the future in the absence of social welfare provisions? Is the lowering value of Chinese exports and the shutting down of foreign invested export processing factories due to the GFC contributing to a behavioural shift? Will China move to export its culture (high value sectors) more effectively as a trade off for a shift from manufacturing? How might the challenge of reducing energy and carbon intensity factor into the transformation of developing countries like China, India and Brazil? These are some questions discussed in the session.