The cultural economy has proven to be procyclical, assess specialists

The first year of the pandemic, 2020, was not kind to the cultural sector which, due to its inherent characteristics, was condemned to be one of the hardest-hit sectors in the country as long as sanitary conditions did not allow face-to-face development.

For the second year, the conditions improved, although they were not desirable. With the updated data from the Inegi’s Satellite Account of Culture of Mexico, presented at the close of last week, it is possible to observe the loss and recovery capacity of culture in the country during the previous two years.

As this newspaper reported with the issuance of the data, during 2021 cultural activity presented a growth of 7.5% after a drop in 2020 of 8.9%. Broadly speaking, the cultural activities with the greatest dynamism were the performing arts and shows, that is, those that were able to recover the physical presence of mass audiences. Music and concerts had a favorable variation of 28.4% in relation to 2020, while the rebound in performing arts and shows was 22.5 percent.

Likewise, the sector generated an average of three jobs out of every 100 in the country and the subsector that contributed the most was handicrafts, with 40 percent.

With this and also the double-digit growth of sectors such as design and creative services and household cultural production, among others, the participation of culture in the national GDP in 2021 was 3.0%, compared to 2.9% in 2020. and 3.1% of 2019.

Analyze culture data

The data poured into this satellite account is so vast and diverse that it is useful for long-term analyzes focused on cultural activity and should be socialized as a tool for exploration and self-knowledge of cultural agents and the general public.

That is the conviction that drives the Third National Conference of the Satellite Account of Culture of Mexico, an annual discussion among specialists organized by the Group for Reflection on Economy and Culture (Grecu), this year in collaboration with the Inegi and the Autonomous University of Mexico City (UACM). Antonio Mier Hughes, Grecu’s chief economist; Maite Málaga, coordinator of the México Creativo program; Marissa Reyes, coordinator of the UACM Economy and Culture forum, and Manuel Pérez Tapia, deputy director of Satellite Accounts, moderated by Eduardo Cruz Vázquez, coordinator of Grecu.

Antonio Mier Hughes explained: “we are seeing a cultural sector that was knocked out by the crisis in the pandemic. It registered a much greater fall than the rest of the economy and, nevertheless, in this stage of recovery it had growth at a higher rate. It was 7.5% compared to 4.6% nationally, which is a good indication. After seeing the graph in historical terms, it seems that the cultural sector is going to gain dynamism. Let’s say it’s a bit more than procyclical because the falls are steep, but the rises are also larger. However, according to the values ​​in constant terms, it is again below the level it had in 2019”.

Growth, not recovery

The employment in culture was one of the topics where more was deepened. According to historical figures from Inegi, between 2008 and 2021 the highest point of jobs generated by culture was in 2018, with just over 1.41 million. However, for the following year (before the health emergency) culture had already lost more than 23,200 jobs and in 2020 the debacle was almost 190,000 additional sources of employment, that is, a drop of 13.3% compared to the previous year. 2018. By 2021, the sector recovered 43,000 jobs, but still far from the best year.

Manuel Pérez, from Inegi, pointed out that the figures referred to indicate that in 2021 there was growth, but one cannot speak of recovery. “With the jobs it is much easier to see what happens when there is a fall and when there is growth and see what levels the sector returns to.”

He explained that the number of jobs that fell in the fateful 2020 is comparable to the numbers of 2009 (1.23 million jobs), and the growth of 2021 is comparable to the numbers of 2008. The above indicates that there has been a regression of at least a decade in job creation from culture.

Within all this dimension of figures, explained Marissa Reyes, “it would be necessary to see the more qualitative work, more refined in the characterization of the jobs, that is, if the jobs are temporary, if they are permanent, how many have benefits and of what type. All that part will be important because it would give us the look of that number. With the pandemic, more studies began to come out on the status of the work of culture and we must see how to download this information to influence public policy ”.

ricardo.quiroga@eleconomista.mx