ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the definitions of the ‘creative economy’ and related terms as they are used by international and intergovernmental organizations. It argues that the ‘aid’ these organizations provide is mainly discursive: they are able to produce systems of meaning and signification, thereby legitimizing a focus on arts and culture through the ‘creative economy’ by claiming this supports development. The economic measurement of the creative economy increasingly served to justify private investment and public spending on the sector in order to boost its growth, and thereby social and economic development. The chapter also explores the definitions and models of the sector across five key international institutional players: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, as well as the British Council. The British Council was founded in 1934 as a quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organization charged with public diplomacy through culture and education.
