Cultural sector grows more slowly than expected

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Since 1995, the share of the cultural sector in terms of the value increment of Finland’s overall economy has declined.
      The information is based on a pilot study that has been carried out by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with Statistics Finland.
      The findings of the study suggest that the general understanding of the cultural sector’s expansion being faster than the average economic growth is incorrect.
     
In 2005, the Ministry of Education established a working group to identify and explore existing statistical information, as well as information needs, on the economic importance and impact of cultural industries.
      The working group proposed that a pilot study for the development of a so-called satellite account - based on the system of national accounts - for the culture sector in Finland be started without delay.
      The proposed satellite account represents a statistical tool that enables the production of extensive and coherent statistical information covering all sectors of culture.
     
The objective of the satellite account is to assess the economic impact of culture on the national economy, including the proportion of the cultural section of the gross domestic product (GDP), exports, imports, and of the domestic demand, in a more detailed and more comprehensive way.
      With the help of new economic statistics, the Ministry of Education aims at developing and promoting cultural exports.
      ”It is likely that the domestic markets for culture cannot continue growing”, said Stefan Wallin, the Minister of Culture and Sport, at a press conference on Wednesday.
      Over the second half of the 1990s, the proportion of the cultural sector of the gross domestic product was 3.5 per cent or more every year, while during the new millennium, the share has remained at slightly over 3 per cent.
      In comparison: in 2005, the share of the construction sector was close to 6 per cent, while the tourist industry accounted for around 2 per cent. The tourist industry is smaller than the cultural sector.
      At that time, the proportion of the cultural industries was 3.23 per cent, which was higher than that of pulp & papermaking, as well as the figure for the entire primary production.
      According to the results released on Wednesday, the proportion of the cultural sector was slightly smaller or 3.18 per cent of GDP in 2006.
     
Even though the proportion of the cultural sector in the entire economy is just average, the cultural sector has grown along with the general economic trend.
      In 1995, the value increment of culture based on the value existing in the accounting period was slightly more than EUR 3 billion. The corresponding figure for 2006 was already as high as EUR 4.5 billion.
      ”One of the most important observations is that the cultural sector constitutes a major part of the economy”, notes Special Government Advisor Kimmo Aulake from the Ministry of Education.
     
Among cultural industries, the branch of newspapers and periodicals is by far the largest, covering almost 25 per cent of the cultural proportion of the gross domestic product.
      The share of other printing and related industries was well over 13 per cent, while the proportion of radio and television was just below 10 per cent, with that of advertising being around 9 per cent.
      The publishing and copying of records was showing a distinct growth, rising from 0.5 per cent to 0.8 per cent of the entire cultural sector.
     
In the labour-intensive cultural sector, the foreign trade of goods and services showed a deficit as could be expected.
      In 2005, the total value of the import of cultural products into Finland was almost EUR 1 billion, while that of cultural services amounted to approximately EUR 300 million.
      In the same year, Finnish households spent an aggregate sum of EUR 5.5 billion on culture.
      The export of cultural products stood at well over EUR 600 million, while that of cultural services was slightly more than EUR 100 million.
      The radio and television industry as well as the manufacturing and sales of amusement electronics were import-oriented industries.
      Exports exceeded imports only in the branches of advertising, the organising of cultural events, as well as in the work of the architectural and design branches.
     
One of the goals of the the satellite account is to be able to benchmark the results against corresponding international figures, while one of the problems is to determine which branches actually belong to the cultural sector.


Links:
  Ministry of Education
  Statistics Finland

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