The increasing trend for globalization is making access to other countries’ products and culture easier than ever. The European Union is the perfect example of it, connecting a set of countries with distinct historical and cultural backgrounds. In that sense, the consumption of foreign culture and national products has a significant impact on the economy of each of them, and this is true not only inside the European Union.
The importance of the consumption of foreign cultural goods can be seen in the fact that in the last 12 months, 31% of Europeans have read a book by an author from another European country and 27% have watched or listened to a TV or radio program from a fellow EU member state. Moreover, in 2019, the EU recorded a trade surplus of 3.7 billion euros in cultural goods, reflecting an increase in imports over exports of this type of products when compared to the trade surplus of 4.1 billion euros in 2014.
The consumption of foreign cultural goods is characterized not only by individual and social benefits, related to the well-being of citizens and the improvement of skills for the future, but also by its positive impact on the economy of each country. The cultural sector can successfully attract tourists and increase the income created by that activity through investment by a country’s government and its people. Also, increasing tourism provides the opportunity for businesses to sell culture-related products. The consumption of foreign cultural goods is, therefore, related to job creation, which is necessary to keep up with the visitants’ demands.
All in all, the consumption of foreign culture and products has a high impact on each countries’ GDP, expanding tourism and the cultural sectors. As such, promoting a country’s culture and national products to the rest of the world is not only a tribute to its ancestors but also an economic imperative.
Sources:
- Ardielli, E. (2019). Participation of EU Member States’ Citizens on Foreign Culture and Cultural Products. International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, 5, 58-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.18775/ijied.1849-7551-7020.2015.53.2005
- Van der Pol, H.. Key role of cultural and creative industries in the economy. UNESCO Institute for Statistics. https://www.oecd.org/site/worldforum06/38703999.pdf
- Eurostat (2019). Culture statistics- international trade in cultural goods. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Culture_statistics_-_international_trade_in_cultural_goods#Cultural_trade_2014-2019_at_EU-27_and_national_level
- Eurostat (2019). Culture statistics- culture participation. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Culture_statistics_-_cultural_participation
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Student of the Bachelor’s Degree in Economics
Nova School of Business and Economics
