How much does it contribute to the economy?

Rhonda Griffiths

Imagine “Aunty Lele”. She is a weaver and sells her crafts at the market every week. For every ceremony and community event she produces beautiful works and “without her”, things just wouldn't be the same. But how different would things have been if Aunty Lele hadn't been there? What exactly have the Aunty Leles of the region contributed? The truth is, we just don't know.

Culture-a valuable practice

The contribution of the cultural sector to a nation's economy is underestimated; its potential in financial terms is not recognised. Yet the sector contributes by direct and indirect job creation, export earnings, and plays a major role in the tourism industry.

Cook Islands weaver at work.

If Aunty Lele's crafts are measured at all in a GDP (Gross Domestic Product), they are not specifically attributed to culture. Instead, they are hidden among “manufacturing and retail”.

Her other cultural “products” are not measured at all. Her traditional knowledge of weaving and her sustainable resources management practices are intangible and so are excluded from systems of national accounts.

This situation is not unique to culture; other non-valued sectors such as the environment are excluded from measures such as GDP. Yet, while efforts have gone into valuing the environment (e.g. through “green accounting” in the form of a satellite account), little attention has been paid to culture. No framework that systematically measures direct and indirect gains from culture has ever been developed.

Measuring the impact of major events such as the Festival of Pacific Arts, which is a marketplace for handicrafts and other cultural goods, is not on the horizon. Yet during the 9th Festival (Palau, July 2004), sales of storyboards (traditional woodcarvings of Palau) by prison inmates brought in over US$11,800; each of the 16 states of Palau earned an average of US$20,000 in food and craft sales over 10 days. But money and economic conditions are not the only reason why a culture is valuable. It's more than that.

For generations, Pacific Islanders have engaged in cultural activities which are essential to the social well-being of the communities. Culture is referred to as a “contributor to the quality of life”, “a foundation for community identity”, and a “means for nurturing the soul and spirit”-and yes, it's all of that...and more.

Culture reinforces national unity and self-confidence, it invigorates and provides a constantly renewed source of economic and social wealth which sustains us in the face of rapid change such as increasing migration, globalisation, urbanisation, commercial and media exploitation, and growing material aspirations.

Yet, culture as a means for the advancement of good governance, sustainable development, poverty alleviation and economic growth has not really been recognised. Sure, we talk about it everywhere. It is referred to in every regional meeting. It has featured prominently in some of the region's most important plans, goals and visions-but exactly what are we talking about? There is no one simple answer.

What we do know is that there is a relationship between culture and poverty. Traditional knowledge and culture provides a buffer between relative and absolute poverty. It equips people with the skills and ability to provide for their basic shelter, food, and other requirements, yet the traditional “safety nets” are weakening as people start working for cash income and moving to urban areas for jobs-with young people, the aged and the infirm being the most vulnerable. According to the Asian Development Bank, the current perception is that “hardship is caused by the gradual erosion of traditional values” and as a result, social tensions are rising, drug and alcohol abuse is increasing, and the law and order situation in some countries is deteriorating. This may be true, but at present the debate is purely subjective. We have no way of knowing.

Culture-a sound investment

So we know that a country's cultural resources are just as important as other resources-but we need so much more-particularly for planning and development purposes.

We need to know what culture contributes to GDP. We need to know what is already counted but hidden. We need to know what is not counted at all. We need a system that is relevant to Pacific communities. But we need a system that is in concordance with other systems.

We need to understand the links between culture and poverty, good governance, security, sustainable development and economic growth. We need tools such as cultural indicators capable of linking culture with other sectors. We need to understand the extent of setbacks or improvements in development.

We need to look strategically towards our cultural sectors. We need to know that Aunty Lele with her crafts will be around for a long time, enriching our ceremonies and selling her crafts at the market. We need to be aware of any potential threat to her existence, and bear in mind that she is not a subsidy but an investment. That is perhaps the most difficult of all.


Rhonda Griffiths is SPC Cultural Affairs Adviser.