Center for Business and Economic Research - Ball State University


CBER Data Center
Projects and PublicationsEconomic IndicatorsWeekly CommentaryCommunity Asset InventoryManufacturing Scorecard

About

Commentaries are published weekly and distributed through the Indianapolis Business Journal and many other print and online publications. Disclaimer

RSS Feed

Disclaimer

The views expressed in these commentaries do not reflect those of Ball State University or the Center for Business and Economic Research.

Recent

The 2023 ForecastThe reason for worry about a recession is the Federal Reserve’s response to high inflation.

Some Labor Market Facts You Won’t Read ElsewhereIndiana is simply not producing a 21st century workforce.

Three Types of Public DebtAll types of public debt are effectively transfers of wealth from the future to our present selves.

Remote Work Is Indiana’s Biggest Opportunity and RiskThere are now more Hoosiers in remote work than there are in manufacturing and logistics combined.

View archives

Top Tags

jobs and employment 225
economics 173
education 144
economic development 141
taxes 122
state and local government 119
finance 107
recession 100
budget and spending 98
indiana 96
Browse all tags
Reporter / Admin Login

February 8, 2015

A Re-Look at the “Creative Class”

Many readers will have heard of economist Richard Florida whose writings popularized the notion of a 'Creative Class' of workers. Florida argued that these workers held the key to a region's prosperity and that the policies that attracted them would offer economic salvation. These policies are now common, so I offer brief review and friendly critique.

The ‘Creative Class’ comprises people whose jobs involve creating new forms of things, solving complex problems and expressing new ideas. Think software developers, mechanical engineers, novelists, web designers and ahem, university professors. This is not too controversial an idea, but Florida argued more than a decade ago that it was these folks who comprised the economic future of a region. Therefore he argued, cities should make themselves attractive to these workers. This argument and the subsequent policies have proven hard for many folks to swallow.

Florida argued that to attract these workers, places had to be 'cool.' This definition proved a bit too porous to satisfy policymakers, so Florida focused his description of cool places as those having high levels of human capital (talent), an open and welcoming society (tolerance) and appropriate infrastructure for creativity (technology).

Many places have tried in earnest to craft policies that would embrace these ideas. However, few seem to have actually succeeded in luring a disproportionate share of the creative class. At the same time, Professor Florida has come under withering criticism from three groups. My economist colleagues have found plenty of technical holes in his argument. Community activists have critiqued the policies that essentially benefit the most affluent folks in a city. Policymakers outside very large cities have found his policy recommendations unrealistic (how really do you rise on the gay friendly index?). I have a somewhat different and far friendlier take on Richard Florida's ideas.

From the 1960s through the 1990s Florida observed workers relocating to places that were rich in amenities. As will any trend, the most extreme elements are the most visible. So, Richard Florida observed the leading edge of trendy, bohemian and urban migration pattern. These households were young, worked in occupations that could locate anywhere and most desired a set of urban amenities like coffee shops, bars, commuter rails and the arts. But, this was just the leading edge of a vast change in behavior.

Today, perhaps 95 percent of occupations are tied not to a particular region, but can be done anywhere there are people. That means nowadays, nearly all households, not just young urban hipsters, can live almost anywhere they wish. This means that the ‘cool’ attributes Richard Florida identified will be less important to a region’s success than generally being a great place to live across many attributes.

Mobile households today look for good local schools, safe, quiet neighborhoods, availability of recreation and the like. What Florida observed about amenities of tolerance, talent and technology was the leading edge of a trend that affects nearly all migration in America. Being a great place matters much more than being cool, and it is these great places are the only ones that are growing.

Link to this commentary: https://commentaries.cberdata.org/772/a-re-look-at-the-creative-class

Tags: people, placemaking, economic development


About the Author

Michael Hicks cberdirector@bsu.edu

Michael J. Hicks, PhD, is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and the George and Frances Ball distinguished professor of economics in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University. Hicks earned doctoral and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Virginia Military Institute. He has authored two books and more than 60 scholarly works focusing on state and local public policy, including tax and expenditure policy and the impact of Wal-Mart on local economies.

© Center for Business and Economic Research, Ball State University

About Ball State CBER Data Center

Ball State CBER Data Center is one-stop shop for economic data including demographics, education, health, and social capital. Our easy-to-use, visual web tools offer data collection and analysis for grant writers, economic developers, policy makers, and the general public.

Ball State CBER Data Center (cberdata.org) is a product of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University. CBER's mission is to conduct relevant and timely public policy research on a wide range of economic issues affecting the state and nation. Learn more.

Terms of Service

Center for Business and Economic Research

Ball State University • Whitinger Business Building, room 149
2000 W. University Ave.
Muncie, IN 47306-0360
Phone:
765-285-5926
Email:
cber@bsu.edu
Website:
www.bsu.edu/cber
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/BallStateCBER
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/BallStateCBER
Close