Creative service industries and regional productivity.

This research analyses the effect of creative service industries on labour productivity of the regions. Creative service industries offer services that increase a region's capacity to generate and combine new ideas, resulting in an increased production of innovations which raise productivity. The paper proposes an analytical framework and compares findings in 250 regions in 24 countries of the European Union in 2008. We find that creative service industries increases labour productivity of the regions and their effects are as important for regional productivity as scientific research or highly qualified human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]