The New Geography of Creativity: Technology, Talent, and Tolerance

Economist Robert Lucas argues that cities would be economically unviable were it not for the productivity effects associated with endowments of human capital.

National growth studies find a clear link between the economic success of cities and their human capital, measured by the level of education.

The Perspective of Creative Capital

From the perspective of the theory cited above, economic growth will occur in places where the population has a high level of education.

Through interviews conducted by the author, we can see that people were not following jobs or places, but that highly educated people were attracted to places that were inclusive and diverse. Creative people drive regional economic growth, and these people prefer innovative, diverse, and tolerant places. The distinctive feature of the creative class is that its members do work whose function is to create new meaningful forms.

Richard has discovered certain tendencies of the new geography of creativity:

• The creative class is moving away to a set of places the author calls creative centers.
• Creative centers tend to be the economic winners of our age.
• Creative centers are not thriving due to traditional economic reasons.
• Creative people are not moving to these places for traditional reasons.

The New Geography of Creativity

These changes are leading to powerful migration trends and a new emerging economic geography. In the major creative centers, the creative class represents more than 35 percent of the labor force, but despite its advantages, the big regions have not monopolized the market as creative class places. In fact, several smaller regions have some of the nation’s largest concentrations of creative classes (Michigan, Wisconsin)

Technology, Talent, and Tolerance

The key to understanding the new economic geography of creativity and its effects on economic performance lies in what Richard calls the 3Ts of economic development: technology, talent, and tolerance. To attract creative people, generate innovation, and stimulate economic development, a place must have all 3.

The 3Ts explain why some cities do not grow. This is because they are unwilling to be tolerant and open enough to attract and retain the best creative talents.

For all this, a region must have the 3Ts in order to stimulate economic growth and innovation.

The Role of Diversity

Economists have long argued that diversity is important for economic performance.

Places that are open and have low entry barriers for people derive a creative advantage from their ability to attract people from a wide range of backgrounds. More open and diverse places are likely to attract more talented and creative people, the kind of people who drive innovation and growth.