Do creative industries enhance employment growth? Regional evidence from Colombia

Abstract

Do creative industries have positive spillovers for the local economy in middle-income countries? While in high-income countries several studies have shown that creative industries are highly innovative and productive, positively impacting the local economy, the evidence is scarce for middle-income countries. Using employment data, we studied the agglomeration patterns of creative industries in Colombia between 2008 and 2017. We found a positive relationship between creative industries’ agglomeration and employment in non-creative services industries. However, using a shift–share instrumental variable approach, we found no significant causality of an increase in creative industries’ employment on employment growth in other industries.