>> 1.8 TOWARDS NEW DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS
In all the assessments of the creative economy, developing countries appear lacking in key institutional and/or regulatory conditions. Lack of intellectual-property protection in the developing world is frequently cited as a barrier to creative-economy growth, as is the absence of state support, sufficient investment capital and disposable income. The latter in turn limits domestic markets for cultural goods and services, although this is changing with the emergence of new middle classes and large numbers of consumers in many countries, as already observed with regard to China. Taxation bases are also limited as a result, making creative entrepreneurship difficult to invest in or cross-subsidize. Equally constraining is the absence of key relationships with gatekeepers and intermediaries in the still “central” world cities. In a game of unrelenting international competition, those places and agents with better access to resources, networks and opportunities will always gain the upper hand. All these factors might appear to provide grounds for pessimism. Virtuous cycles of growth (in the centres) and vicious cycles of decline (in the margins) are hard to reverse. Nevertheless, there is increasing evidence to show that such pessimistic assessments can be countered. To view the worldwide creative economy in these terms alone is to miss the diversity, plurality and vitality of cultural expressions (and industries). Much can be done, creatively, to promote the cultural and creative industries as engines of sustainable human development.