Picard, Toivonen and Grönlund (2003)
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Source Details
| Picard, Toivonen and Grönlund (2003) | |
| Title: | The Contribution of Copyright and Related Rights to the European Economy |
| Author(s): | Picard, R. G., Toivonen, T. E., Grönlund, M. |
| Year: | 2003 |
| Citation: | Picard et al., The Contribution of Copyright and Related Rights to the European Economy, (2003) |
| Link(s): | Definitive , Open Access |
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| About the Data | |
| Data Description: | This study compiled national data from the 15 European Union member states and three nations identified as principal competitors in copyright industries: Canada, Japan, and United States of America. The authors identified a variety of categories of statistical data within the NACE classification (Nomenclature de Activités économques de la Communauté Européenne)--the general industrial classification system for the European Communities--for use in data collection activities of this research project. Several additional categories for use were identified within the CPA 2002 (classification of products by activity in the European Economic Community), and the PRODCOM (Production Communitaire) classification systems. This study utilises four fundamental measures: turnover, value added, value added as a percent of GDP, and number of employees. |
| Data Type: | Secondary data |
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| Cross Country Study?: | Yes |
| Comparative Study?: | Yes |
| Literature review?: | No |
| Government or policy study?: | Yes |
| Time Period(s) of Collection: |
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Abstract
This study assesses the economic importance of copyright industries to the European economy and those of individual nations in the year 2000. The copyright industries are critically important to the European Community because they involve media, cultural, and knowledge industries. Development in the industries is indicative of performance in post-industrial society especially where related to the information society.
The legal protection afforded by the relevant rights i.e. copyright and related rights allows for the development of a copyright industry that contributed more than €1.2 trillion (€1,200 billion) to the economy of the European Union, produced value added of €450 billion, and employed 5.2 million persons in 2000. The total gross value added, which measures wealth added to the economy, represented more than 5.3 % of the total value added for the 15 EU Member States. In terms of employment, the industries contributed 3.1 % of total EU employment. As a result of gaps in data that are normally experienced when using national accounts and employment data from official international and statistical sources, a complete set of data was unavailable for study. These problems that arise as a result of these gaps in data are addressed in the study. The authors estimate that the effect of gaps in data understates the real contribution of copyright to the European economy by 5 to 10 %. The copyright industries are divided into 2 parts: 1) core copyright industries that are based upon the creation, distribution, and sale of copyright products and services (for example, magazines, motion pictures, recorded music, software), and 2) copyrightdependent industries that would not exist without the existence of products and services subject to copyright (for example, television set manufacturers, DVD player manufacturers, computer manufacturers). Together they combine to form an overall copyright industry that is among the most important contributor to the European economy.
This assessment of the contribution of copyright industries to the European economy focuses on the turnover, value added, and employment provided by the industries. Turnover provides a measure of the flow of cash into the industries before costs, value added shows what wealth the industries create for the economy, and employment indicates the extent to which individuals and society benefit through jobs creation. The core and dependent copyright industries both make significant contributions but the core industries are the most important to the European economy (Figure 1).
Main Results of the Study
- This study shows that the copyright industries are significant contributors to the economy, providing nearly 5.3 percent of total value added in the EU and 3.1 percent of total employment. The contributions of the copyright industries are far greater than many other industries that receive significant attention from policy makers.* The core copyright industries—those in which copyright content is created, processed, and distributed—are the foundation and central economic generator of European copyright industries. Across the EU, the core industries and activities create the greatest wealth evidenced in higher value added from the core sectors than the copyright-dependent activities. The core industries also provide greater employment and produce higher productivity than the dependent industries.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
The comparative data analysis reveals the high level of economic contribution to the European economy as well as to competing markets, providing empirical evidence in support of legal copyright protections.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
| Sample size: | 18 |
| Level of aggregation: | Country |
| Period of material under study: | 2000 |
