Economic Development and the Cultural Wealth of Nations.

Sociology of development and economic sociology have largely ignored some of the most important sectors driving national economic development in low- and middle-income countries, namely tourism, investment-attractor industries and cultural exports. To a significant extent these sectors rely on intangible qualities of products and services—qualities emanating, in part, from the cultural heritage of the people engaged in production, comprising what we call the cultural wealth of nations. These seemingly intangible cultural qualities, their empirical indicators, their management, and their effects on national economies motivate this paper. We offer an initial elaboration of the cultural wealth of nations concept, its indicators and consequences. Then we provide an illustration of two developing countries in different world regions and their efforts to manipulate symbolic and cultural capital to advance economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]