Reliability of Creative Composite Indicators with Territorial Specification in the EU

Iván Boal-San Miguel and Luis César Herrero
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Iván Boal-San Miguel: Research Group on Cultural Economics and Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Commerce, University of Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-27

Abstract: There is wide consensus regarding the capacity of the creative economy as a factor in economic development and sustainability in regions in the medium term, and it is an issue that has aroused interest in measuring the creative potential of areas by estimating composite indicators. Most works posit indicators by countries or cities and normally employ a single aggregation method. This work proposes the construction of a synthetic indicator of creativity with regional disaggregation for a wide sample of European countries, comparing different aggregation methods under the hypothesis of the benefit of the doubt (BoD). We use Eurostat data and also analyse spatial dependence processes. Findings point to an inequality in the regional distribution of creativity in Europe and this reveals creative gap models in areas, suggesting that creativity triggers greater spatial disparities wherever it is found. The principal creative clusters are located in regions in central and northern Europe, particularly in regions with national capitals. The regional distribution of the indicator evidences positive spatial dependence, thereby revealing the existence of spatial externalities that provide feedback for the concentration process and, therefore, a widening of the disparities.

Keywords: creativity; European regions; composite indicators; creative cluster; distance measures; data envelopment analysis; principal component analysis; spatial analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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