Developing Cultural Industries in Central and Eastern European Countries

In recent years, culture became an important source of revenue and employment with a significant impact on sustainable development and the quality of life. As developing cultural industries is one of the Europe 2020 Agenda objectives, countries are supporting the creative sectors whose positive outputs lead to new jobs and economic growth. This paper aims to give an overview of the current state of Romanian cultural industries by comparison to other Central and Eastern European countries. Firstly, it starts with outlining the conceptual positions on culture and creativity, followed by a discussion on the theoretical aspects concerning cultural industries and their impact on prosperity and growth. We will look at the business sector, labour market, cultural vitality and participation within cultural industries to assess both the potential and the trends for development.