Global Cultural Trade in the Digital Age

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics published a report on the global flow of cultural goods.

The report explores the features of export and import of cultural products in the digital age. The authors of the paper analysed the period between 2004 and 2013 and presented the data of the top exporters and most popular products.

For instance, data shows that China has become the leading exporter of cultural goods, while the US has lost positions. Arts and crafts moved to the top of the most traded cultural products, but the places of movies and music on this list have dramatically changed. This is due to the digitisation this kind of products and their transformation into cultural services, which are often sold online. You can find these and other important data in the paper.

The authors conclude that measuring the flow of cultural goods faces new difficulties in the digital age. Perhaps, specialists need to find new data sources to improve cultural trade statistics. It will help to understand the place of cultural trade in the global economy.

More information http://www.uis.unesco.org/culture/Pages/cultural-product-trade-flow-en.aspx 

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