The Warhol Economy: How cultural drivers are shaping the urban economy March 12, 2009

"Which is more important to London’s economy, the gleaming corporate office or the grungy rock club that launches the best new bands? If you said "office," think again. Elizabeth Currid, author of The Warhol Economy, would argue that creative industries like fashion, art, and music drive the urban economy as much as - if not more than - finance, real estate, and law. And these creative industries are fueled by the social life that whirls around the clubs, galleries, music venues, and fashion shows where creative people meet, network, exchange ideas, pass judgments, and set the trends that shape popular culture.

The implications of Currid's argument are far-reaching. Urban policymakers, she suggests, have not only seriously underestimated the importance of the cultural economy, but they have failed to recognize that it depends on a vibrant creative social scene. They haven't understood, in other words, the social, cultural, and economic mix that Currid calls the Warhol economy.

Currid’s first person report from New York’s creative scene takes the reader into the city spaces where the social and economic functions of the creative processes merge. Her research – including interviews with leading fashion designers, artists and muscians – lead to some fascinating conclusions that she will present in the lecture at ippr."

Speakers: Elizabeth Currid is Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California's School of Policy, Planning, and Development. Her research has been featured in The New Yorker, The Economist, The New York Times and Village Voice, among other outlets. She holds a Ph.D. in urban planning from Columbia University. She divides her time between New York and Los Angeles.

Official Website: http://www.ippr.org/events/?id=3419