Mexican Economist claims in the Dominican Republic that the economic operation of culture must be formalized

Mexican Economist claims in the Dominican Republic that the economic operation of culture must be formalized
Santo Domingo, 02/08/2013

Mexican Economist Ernesto Piedras, an expert on cultural industries and satellite accounts, stated that a high percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the various countries, worldwide, is generated by culture, and that this sector generates many high productivity jobs.

The specialist and the author of the book “Cuánto vale la cultura (How much is culture worth),” offered these statements during an interview with the newspaper MiCultura (in its second edition), during his visit to the Dominican Republic as guest facilitator at the First Diploma in Management of Cultural and Creative Industries, which was organized by the Ministry of Culture (MINC).

“Culture has a generous economic dimension. This is not to say that we should commercialize culture, but we should formalize its economic operation because there are authors, there are artists, there are people who are working in this sector,” he claimed.
Piedras praised the Dominican Republic’s initiative that is being implemented through the MINC, of creating a Satellite Account for Culture, which he described as a “pioneer in this area.“

“I am delighted to see that much is going on in the Dominican Republic. There is a process of re-appreciation of culture that is taking place here,” the specialist stated.

It is worth noting that the scope of this great initiative is not only limited to the Dominican Republic, as the Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA) supported SICA’s Regional Project of Satellite Accounts of Culture during SICA’s XLI Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government, which recently was held in San José, Costa Rica, and in which President Danilo Medina Sánchez participated.