Asian Cities and Limits to Creative Capital Theory

Richard Florida's (2002a) highly cited book, The Rise of the Creative Class, has stirred an ongoing debate on the relationship between culture, creativity and economy, and on the usefulness of the concept in devising policy prescriptions for urban development (Lang and Danielsen 2005; Peck 2005). Written in accessible language appealing to business and policy-making audiences, the book popularizes a new concept of the “creative class,” arguing that creative people are a key driver of urban economic growth. Urban cities with such specific conditions as the presence of creative talents, and the availability of technology industries and environments embracing cultural diversity are conducive to the accumulation of “creative capital”, which can be turned into economic value. In the sequels, including The Cities and the Creative Class (Florida 2005a) and the Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent (Florida 2005b), Florida continues to elaborate this refreshing, compelling but controversial “creative capital theory.” In essence, the theory explains why “ people climate” matter in attracting talents, and how such a socio-cultural environment of diversity and openness correlates with economic prosperity in the urban cities of “creativity-haves” and economic failure in the cities of “have-nots.”

Disputes that have arisen from the creative capital theory are not just about the methodology in measuring the creative class or in verifying the causation between the presence of the class and economic growth. It is also about how likely policy prescriptions can be designed so that policymakers who are looking for the elixir of urban economic growth can turn their cities into an attraction for talents and investments (see Chapter 8, Oakley, this volume). This paper offers a brief review of Florida's theory and highlights its limitations, particularly when applied to Asian city contexts. It argues that there are different paths to economic growth, as seen in the case of two Asian cities. The processes of socio-economic restructuring as demonstrated in the cases of Hong Kong and Macau are far more dynamic and complex than Florida's creative capital theory suggests. More importantly, even though we recognize the positive impact of the creative class on employment, there are heightening concerns about the socio-economic discrepancies that a creative city will lead to.