Cultural Determinants of Economic Performance in Romania

Max Weber, the Austrian School, and the institutional economists described the influence of culture on the economy. Culture may be regarded as an economic asset–a type of capital cultural. It is an intangible public good, shared by the members of a social group. International experts agree that cultural action is an effective factor for social and economic integration, a genuine way of promoting territorial cohesion and engine for local development. At the EU level, the Culture Programme 2007-2013 continues the previous Culture 2000 Programme. The goal of the European Commission is to promote a new approach to cultural action focused on its socio-economic role and on the creation of a common cultural space. It promotes cultural dialogue, the creation and dissemination of culture and mobility of artists and their works, European cultural heritage, new forms of cultural expression. This paper presents a brief analysis of the impact on economic development, at the national level and for development regions, of cultural factors and creative sectors in Romania. Both the direct effects (turnover generated by the creative and cultural sectors, their contribution to Romania's GDP, their growth rate, the number of people employed in these sectors) and indirect effects (interdependencies with the information and communication technology, attracting investment and tourism development) of culture on economic development are analyzed.