Cultural and creative industries for sustainable postindustrial regional development: the case of Lithuania

Abstract

Under the conditions of globalisation and rapid urbanisation small economies are facing the problem of sustainable regional development, especially in the regions with low population density. Historically, in order to overcome economic disparities in disadvantaged regions, national governments have been taking various strategies for the existing low-tech and cheap-labour-based industry stimulation. However, within open economies and human resource mobility these measures prove to be not sustainable in the long run unless they offer significant benefits associated with life quality. The rise of cultural and creative industries might offer such a complex solution in terms of occupations, cultural development, and variety of activities in the regions. Based on this, we aim to address the question: what factors are important for stimulation of sustainable regional development via cultural and creative industries (CCI) in order to reduce their economic, cultural, social, territorial disparities. Factors influencing the development of CCI in the region are identified, and the model for stimulation of regional CCI development by local/regional governments is proposed. This model enables sustainable regional CCI development through stimulation of regional CCI supply and demand in a balanced way.