Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Caribbean Development Trends

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Agribusiness
    • Antigua and Barbuda
    • Barbados
    • BehaviorChange
    • Belize
    • Bermuda
    • biodiversity
    • Blockchain
    • Caribbean
    • Caribbean Culture and Media
    • Climate Change
    • Creative Economy
    • Crime Prevention and Citizen Security
    • Data and Knowledge
    • De-risking
    • Dominica
    • Dutch
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Economic Growth
    • Education Policy
    • energy
    • entrepreneurship
    • Environmental and Climate Change
    • Events
    • Extractives
    • Finance
    • Fiscal Rules
    • gender
    • Governance and Regulatory Policy Reforms
    • Grenada
    • Guyana
    • Haiti
    • Health
    • Health Policy
    • Hurricane
    • Hurricane Irma
    • infrastructure
    • Innovation and change
    • Intellectual Property
    • IWD
    • Jamaica
    • JumpCaribbean
    • Labor
    • Labour Markets
    • MOOC
    • Music
    • Natural Disasters
    • Nurturing Institutions
    • OECS
    • Podcast
    • Poverty
    • Private Sector and Entrepreneurship
    • Saint Kitts and Nevis
    • Saint Lucia
    • Saint Vincent and Grenadines
    • skills
    • Sports for Development
    • Suriname
    • Technology
    • The Bahamas
    • The Blue Economy
    • Transportation
    • Tourism
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Uncategorized
    • VAWG
    • Webinar
    • women
    • Women for Change
    • youth
  • Country Offices
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Suriname
  • Press Releases
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Suriname
  • Authors

Creative and Cultural Blind Spots

April 2, 2014 by M. Nelson Leave a Comment


After a couple years of marriage, it seems that the first two questions out of everyone’s mouth is some variation of “so… when are you going to start a family?” and “do you think you’ll settle down in Washington DC?”

After carefully delivering non-committal responses, my mind almost always drifts (perhaps to escape further questioning) to two major thoughts: (a) if I were to stay in the US, my kid(s) would be American – a concept still curiously foreign to me after 14 years in the US; and for that purpose, (b) what could I learn of my own culture from my first-generation Guyanese-American wife, who apart from her accent, hasn’t skipped a Caribbean beat?

So I took the opportunity this weekend to pick her brain.

Among other great take-aways, what stood out to me was her focus on creative expression. The varieties of Caribbean dance, story-telling, music, colors, customs, fashion, costumes, poetry, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, energy etc. that are all integral components of her self-identification. It’s not that this depiction necessarily surprised me, so much as the full realization of the depth, breadth and potency of Caribbean creative and cultural expression.

For all the well-documented market failures in the Caribbean due to lack of economies of scale, exhaustible resources etc., could a comprehensive approach to developing the export-oriented Caribbean creative and cultural industries be a critical ingredient for economic growth? Has the answer been right under our noses all along?

 The answer is… nobody knows…nor does anyone presently have the ability to adequately measure the economic impact of these industries for two main reasons:

(i)                  definitions and usage vary widely as to what constitutes these industries; and

(ii)                given their cross-cutting nature, they are not easily measured in national statistical systems.

Currently, impact analyses are done via proxy and estimation techniques. We know both first-hand and anecdotally that Caribbean countries host various successful creative and cultural events each year, but without specific information, little can be done in the way of evidence-based policy-making to facilitate growth in these areas.

We wouldn’t have to look too far in order to find examples to similar problems though. Lessons learned in removing the blind spots in the tourism sector are easily available.

Would you support development of a cultural satellite accounts in Caribbean countries to measure the impact of the creative and cultural industries in the same way that we do with tourism satellite accounts?

Let us know your thoughts.


Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Creativity, Labour & Learning Tagged With: creative expression, cultural industries, culture, development, economic growth, the Caribbean, tourism

M. Nelson

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

Search

Caribbean Dev Trends

We provide unique and timely insights on the Caribbean and its political, social, and economic development. At the IDB, we strive to improve lives in the Caribbean by creating vibrant and resilient economies where people are safe, productive and happy.

Similar posts

  • Is there something wrong with the Caribbean?
  • Tessanne Chin’s Triumph and Its Impact on Caribbean Cultural Development
  • Harry Potter and the Orange Spell
  • Coronavirus and the Caribbean: economic implications and options
  • There is No Barrel: 10 Take Aways from Youth Talk, Carifesta XIII

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

Blog posts written by Bank employees:

Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


For blogs written by external parties:

For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

Aviso Legal

Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

facebook
twitter
youtube
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT