New research shows that following the global financial crisis in 2008 we saw an accelerated trend towards a greater concentration of creative businesses in London. This should warn us against repeating mistakes in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and should encourage the government to step in to protect progress made in investing in creative clusters outside of London.
As part of our research agenda around local growth, this policy briefing highlights research from recent papers (The changing spatial distribution of employment in Creative Industry Clusters in England 1991-2018 and Relatedness between the Creative Industries and the wider economy: A primer) and puts forward policy suggestions to help the creative industries to recover from the economic impact of the recent pandemic and subsequent shut down.
The research has been undertaken by Professor Peter Sunley, from the University of Southampton, and Ben Gardiner, from Cambridge Econometrics, for the PEC and Creative England.
Although this research focussed on England due to data availability, its lessons are applicable right across the UK, and as we look to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, this industrial sector clearly deserves the attention of policymakers across nations and regions.
Published 16th June 2020
Photo by Martyna Bober of Leonard Lane in Bristol, England.
Related Policy Briefings
Policy Brief: Transitioning to Sustainable Production across the UK Theatre Sector
This policy brief outlines recommendations for transitioning to more sustainable theatre production …
Authors’ Earnings in the UK
This policy briefing sets out areas for possible policy action, proposed by the researchers at CREAT…
Television production, international trade and pressures to consolidate
The UK television production sector is one of Britain’s leading creative export sectors. This briefi…
Three ways to support growth in the creative industries
Three ways to support growth in the creative industries The Creative Industries are an economic powe…
Policy briefing: Creative industries innovation in seaside resorts and country towns
This policy brief is based on a PEC Discussion Paper: Creative Industries Innovation in Seaside Reso…
Policy Briefing: R&D in the Creative Industries
The creative industries are one of the fastest growing sectors of the UK economy. One in eight UK bu…
A global agenda from the PEC’s International Council
You can now read the report in A Global Agenda for the Cultural and Creative Industries is the …
The birth of neo-regulation. Where next for the UK’s approach to platform regulation?
A new era of tech regulation is about to begin. However, planned legislation is leading to a tension…
Placemaking, Culture and Covid
In September 2021, we consulted a Panel of our Industry Champions on their experiences of …
The Creative Industries in the UK’s Export Strategy
This brief is based upon the findings of our latest research into the features and barriers facing t…
How to design a creative higher education system that supports economic needs
As the UK emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government is faced with important policy decision…
Creative places: Growing the creative industries across the UK
This is in part because of the economic importance of the sector: one in eight UK businesses are par…
