Economic contribution study: an approach to the economic assessment of the Arts and Creative Industries in Scotland

The aim of the research was to obtain a comprehensive and robust picture of the contribution of the Arts and Creative Industries (A&CI) to the wider Scottish economy. In particular, the report aims to: analyse the direct impacts of the A&CI in Scotland in terms of employment, turnover, gross value added (GVA) and business stock; outline some of the wider impacts, including the indirect and induced impacts as well as tourism impacts; and consider some of the wider, associated employment impacts of the A&CI in other areas, notably in higher and further education, local government and in creative occupations.

The methodology consisted of a review of the literature and economic data sources, and sector consultations.

The report shows that direct employment in the A&CI in Scotland in 2010 was 84,400 with GVA in the region of £3.2 billion. The largest sector was Software & Electronic Publishing followed by Writing and Publishing. Nearly 12,000 business units are estimated within the A&CI. One third of these are in the Software industries, with Writing and Publishing the next largest in terms of business count, followed by Architecture, Design, Performing Arts and the Heritage sector. By British standards, Scotland has relatively few A&CI businesses. It is estimated that the A&CI generate an additional £3.06 billion turnover in indirect impacts (i.e. supply chain effects), with the largest contributors Writing and Publishing followed by Software/Electronic Publishing and Radio and TV. Induced effects (i.e. spending by those employed directly and indirectly) amounting to £2.2 billion are also generated. Again, the main contributors are Writing and Publishing, Software/Electronic Publishing and Radio and TV. In terms of GVA, an additional £1.35 billion is generated indirectly, and £1.25 billion through induced impacts. With regard to tourism, the A&CI works both directly and indirectly in attracting visitors, with the strongest effects in the Heritage and Performing Arts sectors. Tourism expenditure of over £1 billion can be ascribed to overnight tourism motivated by the A&CI, resulting in direct GVA of £280 million. In terms of wider, associated impacts, around 52,000 people are employed in creative occupations. An assessment of A&CI related employment within higher and further education estimated that there are around 2,300 jobs in higher education and a further 1,800 in further education linked to A&CI subjects. In local authorities there are estimated to be more than 1,500 full time staff employed in A&CI related positions. Overall, the direct, indirect and induced impacts of the A&CI in Scotland amount to almost 130,000 jobs, £6.3 billion GVA, and £12.48 billion in turnover.

There were no recommendations as this was not within the remit of the report.