International Measurement of Culture
Draft Recommendations from the Workshop
Paris, 4-5 December, 2006
General
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Wide interest in culture statistics
Wide frustration that there is much discussion
but follow up seems lacking
Seems to be increasing interest in political
arena
Need for international agencies to collaborate
and not duplicate efforts
Social impacts may be more headline catching
but no agreement on robust quantification
General (2)
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Visibility is important
Small samples are a problem due to nonhomogeneous populations.
Rising thresholds also a problem for culture
where there are many small companies
Statistics agenda seems to be accelerating
Need to be flexible not proscriptive
OECD should be proactive
Politicians will not wait for perfect data
Recommendations - General
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OECD should provide a forum for discussion
Use its office to surf the rising tide of political
interest.
Framework is Crucial
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Should include activities ranging from
creation to consumption/conservation
General agreement on core areas
Ongoing discussion on areas such as sports,
advertising, architecture, design, crafts, etc.
Even on the core areas, there is considerable
divergence at the detailed level
UNESCO project on revising FCS ongoing
Framework – Details (1)
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Frame work should be modular – hangars in a
wardrobe.
Actual definition is less important than fact of
single definition.
Classification more important than structure
Comparability is again a recurring theme
Robustness → comparability → credibility
Economic value is more than just economic
impact
Value from non-transactions may be
significant but difficult to translate to
quantitative data
Framework – Details (2)
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Framework definition must be clear,
unequivocal, detailed
Ideally tied to international classification
standards
Most general-purpose standards not sufficient
for culture
Need to work towards improving international
standards
Long revision cycles for most standards mean
that alternative short-term approach also
required
Framework – Details (3)
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Better to concentrate on a core area and try to
achieve real comparability
Should focus on perhaps only two hangers in
the wardrobe (case studies)
Trade Statistics
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Many of the same problems as industry classifications
Concordance between HS CPC EBOPS
More Details
Crafts and New Media
Diversity (e.g., domestic content)
Non-government data can be useful but need to focus
on official sources
Need to go beyond customs data
Ho to measure electronic transactions
Non-tariff barriers at least as important as tariff barriers
Recommendations:
Framework
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Agree to not absolutely finalize OECD Framework,
pending final UNESCO report
Agree to continue work of a subset of areas e.g.:
– Film and Video
– Radio and Television
– Performing Arts
– Publishing
– Libraries
– Museums
Focus on only 2 areas,
Concentrate of developing solid detailed definitions that
can be related to all standards in use
Recommendations:
Framework definition
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Create expert group, including UNESCO, to
complete work on submission of ISCO updates.
For remaining aspects, work with an agreed upon
subset of culture areas.
Using expert groups to develop detailed
translations to all major classification standards
being used by members, including algorithms
for apportioning mixed classes
Use these translations to collect data from OECD
member countries
Measures
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International Comparable Measures should
– Be measurable
– Be truly comparable
– Be rational at international level
– Be useful for national policy makers
Both social and economic measures are important
Less agreement on appropriate social measures but
definitely need more detailed data
General agreement on some economic measures
Public Expenditures important but needs further
development of good methodology for the areas where
the framework expert group has developed detailed
translations
Recommendations: Measures
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Continue to work with external groups to
establish appropriate measures of social
impact to be included in a suite of measures
Collect data on Output, GDP, Employment,
Work with UNESCO and others to support
development of trade statistics
Participation considered important but still
much exploration required
Work with external groups to assemble
comparable data on participation
Satellite Accounts
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Decision is strategic
Forces coherence and provides rigour to culture data
and comparability with economies as a whole
Should start from a wider rather than narrower definition
– easier to split out a sector than add one in
Flexibility - can be developed in stages don’t need to
everything at once
Raise the profile of culture within government
organizations
Countries interested would benefit from an international
forum
Convenio Andrés Bello, Chile, Mexico, Finland willing to
share expertise
Recommendations – Satellite
Accounts
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OECD explore the possibility of setting up a
group of experts
– Initially to promote the use of satellite
accounts for culture in member
countries
– Subsequently to develop a
methodological design for the
implementation of satellite accounts