Creative Industries: Case Studies from Arab Countries

Harabi, Najib (2009): Creative Industries: Case Studies from Arab Countries.

Abstract

The paper describes and explains empirically the economic performance of four key creative industries (the book publishing, music sound recording, film production and software industries) in five Arab countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon).

Using the Porter (Diamond) model as its theoretical background, a survey was conducted in the years 2002-03 among 242 experts, covering firm representatives, industry and government experts. The results were incorporated into five national case studies. This paper synthesizes the results of those national reports, giving a comparative account of the performance of the four creative industries in these Arab countries.

The overall results of the study suggest that creative industries in Arab countries are substantially underdeveloped, and there remains a great potential that should systematically be mobilized. A discussion of how this can be achieved is offered, based upon a well-designed and implemented process of upgrading and innovation in companies, industries and clusters related to creative activities. Public policy can play in this process an important role, as shown in the example of promoting Shanghai creative industries, where the Municipal Government has played a key role.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Knowledge-based industry, knowledge economy, creative industry, creative economy, cultural industry, copyright –based industry, Arab countries, Arab world, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon
• Subjects: L - Industrial Organization > L8 - Industry Studies: Services > L82 - Entertainment ; Media; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z11 - Economics of the Arts and Literature

References

National Case Studies:

al Khouri, R. (2004), Performance of Copyright Industries in Jordan; paper prepared for the WIPO Project on “Performance of Copyright Industries in Selected Arab Countries”. Geneva: WIPO.

Ghoneim, A.F. (2004), Performance of Copyright Industries in Egypt; paper prepared for the WIPO Project on “Performance of Copyright Industries in Selected Arab Countries”. Geneva: WIPO.

Lahouel, M.L (2004), Performance of Copyright Industries in Tunisia; paper prepared for the WIPO Project on “Performance of Copyright Industries in Selected Arab Countries”. Geneva: WIPO.

Melki, R. (2004): Performance of Copyright Industries in Lebanon. Paper prepared for the WIPO Project on “Performance of Copyright Industries in Selected Arab Countries. Geneva: WIPO.

Sekkat, K. and L. Achy (2004), Performance of Copyright Industries in Morocco; paper prepared for the WIPO Project on “Performance of Copyright Industries in Selected Arab Countries”. Geneva: WIPO.

Other References:

Alikhan, S. (2001), “The Copyright Industries and Their Contribution to Economic Growth,” paper presented at the WIPO/ISESCO Conference on Intellectual Property organized by WIPO and ISESCO, Baku, May 21-23, 2001.

Bain, T (1956), Barriers to New Competition. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.

Barrowclough, D. and Zeljka Kozul-Wright (Ed.) (2008), Creative Industries and Developing Countries. Voice, Choice and Economic Growth. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Political Economy. Routledge, London and New York.

Bertrand, M., S. Mullainathan (2001), “Do People Mean What They Say? Implications for Subjective Survey Data”, American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 91(2): 67-72.

Caves, R.E. (2000), Creative Industries – Contracts between Art and Commerce. Harvard University Press.

De Trafford, A. et al (2008), Cultural Heritage and Development in the Arab World. Bibliotheca Alexandria: Cairo.

Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Sherif El Diwanny, and Tarik Yousef (eds.), The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2007: Sustaining the Growth momentum. Geneva: World Economic Forum.

Melki, Roger (2007), The Economic Contribution of Creative industries in Lebanon. WIPO: Geneva.

Miller, J., Stroobergen, A. (1993), Employment in Copyright Based Industries. Council of New Zealand Inc/BERL, Willengton, March 1993.

Porter, M. E. (1990), The Competitive Advantage of Nations. New York: Free Press.

Silberston, A. (1998), The Economic Importance of Copyright, in: Creativity & Intellectual Property Rights: Evolving Scenarios and Perspectives. Proceedings of an International Conference, Vienna, Austria, July 12-14, 1998.

Siwek, S. E. (2004), Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy: The 2004 Report, prepared for the International Intellectual Property Alliance, Economists Incorporated.

Siwek, S. E., Mosteller, G. (1999), Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy: The 1998 Report, prepared for the International Intellectual Property Alliance.

Towse, R. (2001), Creativity, Incentive and Reward: An Economic Analysis of Copyright and Culture in the Information Age. Cheltenham, U.K., and Northampton, Mass.: Elgar.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2009), Information Sheet No.1: Analysis of the UIS International Survey on Feature Films Statistics. April 2009 (available online)

United Nations (2008), Creative Economy Report 2008. The challenge of Assessing the Creative Economy: toward Informed Policy-making. Geneva 2008.

World Bank (2001), Cultural Heritage and Development – A Framework for Action in the Middle East and North Africa. World Bank: Washington D.C.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (2003), Guide on Surveying the Economic Contribution of the Creative industries. Geneva: WIPO.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (2006), National Studies on Assessing the Economic Contribution of the Copyright-Based Industries. Creative Industries Series No.1, Geneva: WIPO.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and State University of Campinas (2002), Study on The Economic Importance of Industries and Activities Protected by Copyright and Related Rights in the MERCOSUR Countries and Chile: Highlights. Geneva: WIPO.