A Future for the Creative Economy

This Working paper reports on discussions at three CREATe-sponsored events in which economists working in the areas of culture, media and industrial organization were invited to exchange views on the transformative impact of digitization and the internet on the creative economy and to reflect on the future of cultural production and the implications for copyright. The rise of digital platforms has transformed the possibilities for the supply, demand and finance of creative products that embody copyright works and are being made available in digital form. With discussions taking place on the future of copyright law and how to reform it to meet these developments, it is important to link the economic literature to thinking about the future shape of markets for copyright works in the creative industries. Many of the topics studied in the economic theory of industrial organisation clearly apply to markets for creative goods and, indeed, the speakers at these events are some of the leading economists who have published research in this area. Their contributions have been summarized in this Report and the overall conclusions of the three events summarized