Summer School in Economics of Culture: Creativity, Happiness and Growth

Rome, 16-27 July 2012

The ongoing economic crisis has seriously challenged the way we understand and measure economic growth. An increasing number of economists, social scientists, and policy-makers suggest that traditional measures like Gross National Product have outlived their usefulness and have sought to replace them with broader measures of economic prosperity, sustainability, and/or happiness and subjective well-being. As Joseph Stiglitz puts it: “What you measure affects what you do. If we have the wrong metrics, we will strive for the wrong things.”
The aim of the summer school is to study some of the most important aspects that characterize the relation among three social pillars: Creativity, Happiness and Growth, as well investigate why they are relevant for economic and social development. The program covers a wide area of economics and management of culture. It brings together different areas of interest considering both the economic aspects of cultural activity, and the cultural context of economics and management related to the creation of creative industries and developed societies.
Can happiness really mean increased economic growth? While money can’t buy you happiness, studies show that richer nations are also happier nations. According to the Easterlin paradox, it has been found that once wealth reaches a certain level, its effectiveness to make people happy is diminished.
Using the economic perspective, the program offers an alternative view to the standard approaches to economics and management of culture. It explores the issues on which is based the development of cities, nations and societies, taking into account many different viewpoints in economic analysis and management.
Concurrently with the advance of research aimed at exploring specific segments of the economics of culture, either with an economic or managerial outlook, the program addresses the question of culture as a possible engine of economic development for communities and networks rich in cultural resources and able to create innovative cultural products.

The program can be of interest to students engaged in different fields, such as art, archaeology, architecture, environment, and economics, with an interest in economic planning and management of cultural goods and enterprises, as well as in understanding the way creativity can contribute to the well being of society and its development.