*Editor’s note* This is the SRC’s second “Trading Thoughts” article for the year. This the first part in a two-part article.
A decline in tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic reminded the Caribbean of their need for economic diversification. An area for consideration is the “orange” economy which, given the region’s rich cultural assets, presents endless opportunities. However, comparative advantage alone is not sufficient to fully capitalise on the sector’s emerging trends. In this SRC Trading Thoughts we explore how Web 3.0 can be leveraged in the orange economy.
An Economic Engine with Strong Susceptibility to Disruptive Innovation
The orange economy includes several linked activities which transform cultural, artistic and heritage-based ideas into creative goods and services whose value is determined by intellectual property rights (IPRs).
Pre-crisis forecasts indicate that the creative economy could account for 10% of global GDP before 2030. Previous estimates indicated that the orange economy generated 30 million jobs worldwide (employing a greater share of youth, women and minority groups in developing countries than in advanced economies) and contributed 3% of global GDP in 2013, with even bigger contributions in some Caribbean states (8% of St. Lucia’s GDP in 2012 and 5% of Jamaica’s GDP in 2007). UNCTAD found that the creative economy’s export trade growth averaged 7% between 2002 and 2015, demonstrating faster and more resilient growth than other industries even during the 2008 global financial crisis. The orange economy presents a unique opportunity for the Caribbean to leverage its dynamic cultural elements as a comparative advantage to achieve stronger economic growth and diversification, while contributing to several SDGs.
Creative disruption is prevalent in the orange economy, with digitization already significantly reducing costs for creating, accessing, and distributing creative works, and replacing physical products that…
