The development potential index of creative economy for Brazilian federal state capitals

Abstract

The article deals with the measurement of the potential dynamism of creative economy in the 26 capitals of Brazilian states and the Federal District. The central aim is to estimate the potential of creative economy in the selected cities through the creation and application of the Development Potential Index of Creative Economy, which is an index composed of secondary data. The methodological procedures consisted of three steps, the first one dedicated to the theoretical revision of some indexes previously constructed and applied to the understanding of the dynamism of the creative economy in several countries. In the second step, we selected the indicators for the analysis of Brazilian reality, which were aggregated into three dimensions: talent; attractiveness and connectivity; cultural environment and creative entrepreneurship. In the third step, we calculated the DPICE based on two techniques: one that assigned equal weights to the three dimensions and the other one that established different weights, using endogenous weights. The results confirm the regional inequality in Brazil, for the state capitals with greater development potential are located in the southeastern and southern regions of Brazil, and show ways for public policies to strengthen the development of creative economy in those cities.