Culture, a distinctive element and pride of Italy in the world, is also an extraordinary engine of economic development capable of multiplying the benefits of the resources generated, in close relationship with local communities.
Indeed, every euro produced by a museum or an archaeological site translates into another two euros of wealth for the area. Artistic crafts together with other creative industries generate a further 2,1. The production of an audiovisual, a book or a theatrical performance other 1,2. Therefore, investing in "culture" is worthwhile.
These data are contained in the report "I am culture - Italy of quality and beauty challenges the crisis" created by the Symbola Foundation and Unioncamere, with the collaboration and support of the Culture Department of the Marche Region, and was presented today in Macerata.
Considering the weight of culture and creativity in Italian economic activities as a whole, the survey identifies 4 macro sectors: cultural industries proper (film, video, mass media, video games and software, music, books and the press), creative industries (architecture, communication and branding, craftsmanship, design and style production), historical-artistic architectural heritage (museums, libraries, archives, archaeological sites and historical monuments), and performing art and visual arts (artistic representations, entertainment, conferences and fairs).
The multiplier effect calculated by Unioncamere and Symbola is highest in the case of the creative industries (2,1). This means that the 35,9 billion euros of added value produced by these activities have activated a further 76,8 billion euros of wealth on the rest of the economy. The management of the historic-artistic heritage has only a slightly lower effect (2), but is nonetheless capable of "transforming" the 3,3 billion euro of added value produced by the sector into a further 6,6 billion euro. Finally, the economic impact of the cultural industries and the performing arts is equal to 1,2. Thus, the 37,3 billion generated by the cultural industries produce another 45,2 billion euros, while the 4,2 billion GDP produced by the performing arts generate another 4,9 billion euros in the other non-cultural sectors.
The sectors in which the positive effects are most evident are, first of all, tourism, but also trade, transport, real estate, marketing or advertising.
In total, the 80,8 billion euro of added value created by all the production sectors that deal with "culture" (including the public and non-profit component) in 2012 managed to activate almost 133,4 billion euro , thus coming to constitute a cultural supply chain understood in a broad sense of 214,2 billion euros, equivalent to 15,3% of the GDP produced by the entire Italian economy.
At the territorial level, the effect of the overall multiplier of the cultural production sector is highest in the two northern divisions (1,8), equal to the national average in the Center (1,7), lower in the South (1,2).
Friuli Venezia-Giulia is the region that best manages to make the cultural heritage available "fruitful": the impact on the local economy of the production of culture is equal to 2,1. Followed by Veneto (2), therefore tied for 1,9 by Tuscany, Lombardy and the Marches. On the opposite side, the more contained effects of the cultural system in Sardinia and Calabria (0,9) and in Molise (1) should be noted.
“In the world there is a demand for quality that Italy knows how to intercept – comments Fabio Renzi, Secretary General of Symbola – Foundation for Italian quality -. It is no coincidence that when Italy makes Italy and bets on innovation, research and green economy and crosses them with beauty, quality, links with the territories, with the strength of Made in Italy, it is a strong country capable of competing on the markets international".
"The cultural production system - echoes Claudio Gagliardi, general secretary of Unioncamere - represents the real "territorial supply chain": the one that produces within the national territory and multiplies well-being for the territories, according to a network logic that involves many small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, even from the non-profit world. Its counter-cyclical capacity must make it clear where today it is necessary to concentrate economic policy efforts and where - at national and local level - it is necessary to encourage investments that obtain certain multiplier effects on employment, consumption, tourism and to the benefit of exports of goods and services".
Attachments: Impact of culture on GDP
