- On Norwegian politicians’ choice of culture as a regional development strategy -
Aase Marthe Johansen Horrigmo
Master’s Thesis
Department of Political Science
UNIVERSITY OF OSLO
May 2007
To Anne and Synne.
In August 2000 I went through the doors of the administration building on Blindern campus to ask where I could find a building called ‘CN’. At Chateau Neuf I attended my first lecture as a student at the University of Oslo. Today, when I sit on the 8th floor, writing this preface, I can look back at some of the best years of my life – spent here at Blindern.
The last year has mostly been spent working on my master’s thesis. During this period I have received excellent guidance from Professor Harald Baldersheim, I am deeply grateful.
Since 2005 I have worked on the project “Norden i regionenes Europa”, and I would like to thank Morten Øgård and Jarle Trondal for the opportunity to do this, and for trusting my knowledge enough to let me include my own question in their survey.
And to Morten especially, thank you for letting me use your office and “library”, and for your good advice and support along the way.
My mother and father also deserve an appreciation for their never‐ending support throughout these years as a student. I would like to give my mother extra thanks for
this one.
reading and commenting on a number of student papers, including Thank you also Tim, Odd and Shekira for proof‐reading my thesis.
And last, but not the least, I would like to thank my two roommates, Maja and Martin, promise, from now on I will do my share of the dishes.
I
Blindern, May 2007.
PREFACE ... 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... 4
CHAPTER 1... 6
CULTU E= ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?... 6R HA I OING ON IN NORWAY?... ... ... 1.1 W T S G ... ... ...7
HY I HIS SUBJECT O TEREST 1.2 W S T F I TO POLITICAL SCIENTISTS?...10
CUS, TRUCTURE AND OBJECTI N 1.3 FO S VES...12
HAT IS A ULTURAL STRATEGY? .. 1.4 W C ...13
1.5 CULTURAL STRATEGIES IN NORWAY. ...14
CHAPTER 2...19
A THEORETICAL POINT OF DEPARTURE...19
2.1 THE WORK OF NATIONS: A T HEORETICAL POINT OF DEPARTURE...19
2.1.2 The Network Society and Globalized Elites. ...22
2.2.2 From Symbolic Analysts to Creative Class Members...23
2.2.3 Fourth Wave Politicians and Working Cities...24
2.2.4 Local and Regional Policy Responses: Improving Competitiveness and Creating Entertainment Machines...27
2.2.5 Dependent ariable V ...30
2.2 WHO PRIORITIZES CULTURAL STRATEGIES? ...31
2.2.2 Independent Variables...33
CHAPTER 3...38
DATA, METHODOLOGY, DESIGN AND OPERATIONALIZING THE VARIABLES. ...38
3.1 WHAT KIND OF DATA DO I N EED?...38
3.1.1 Presentation of Data ...39
3.1.2 Problems Related to the Data ...41
3.1.3 Criteria For Linear Regression Analysis...42
3.1.4 Design and Structure...43
3.2 OPERATIONALIZING THE VARIABLES...44
3.2.1 Dependent Variable ...44
3.2.2 Gender...46
3.2.3 Age...46
3.2.4 Education ...46
3.2.5 Party Preference...47
3.2.6 Position...48
3.2.7 Economic Crisis...48
3.2.8 CenterPeriphery...49
3.2.9 Region Versus Kommune...51
CHAPTER 4...53
ANALYSIS...53
UTTING CULTURA STRATEGIES TO THE TES 4.1 P L T...53
4.2 LOOKING FOR THE NEW POLITICAL CULTURE...58
4.2.1 Female, Young, Educated, and Cultural?...58
4.2.2 Peripheral, Poor and Innovative?...66
4.3 SUMMARY...71
CHAPTER 5...75
CONCLUSION...75
IN INDINGS.... ... 5.1 M F .... ...75
WO N WEGIAN TR NDS... A 5.2 T OR E ...78
5.3 IS THIS THEORY TOO AMERICAN TO FIT THE CASE OF NORWAY? ...80
APPENDIX...82
LITERATURE...88
CHAPTER 1
Culture= Economic Development?
The overall purpose of this master thesis is to analyze the Norwegian local and regional politicians’ attitudes toward using culture as a strategy for regional economic development. The thesis will focus on answering three research questions:
1) Why is culture a strategy for regional economical development? 2) Are Norwegian politicians positive to cultural strategies? and 3) Which politicians are positive toward cultural strategies? Question number one will be treated and answered through a theoretical discussion. Questions number two and three are subjects for the thesis’
analysis.
These and similar questions have been examined in the United States by, among others, Terry Nichols Clark. His research resulted in the publishing of “The City as an Entertainment Machine” (Clark 2004a). His findings concluded that, indeed, some American cities and politicians had stopped thinking of production and entertainment as different and independent concepts. Now they are adopting cultural strategies in order to attract talented young workers to their city‐‐and these cities are prospering. This study will use his findings as a point of departure for examining the case of Norway. Are Norwegian politicians as willing as their American counterparts to adopt new strategies in order to strengthen the regional
t
economy? What characterizes the poli icians that are in favor of cultural strategies?
Today economic issues can hardly be discussed without mentioning the term globalization. The introduction of this concept has changed our outlook on the world.
Whereas the borders of the nation‐states in earlier times used to double as economic borders, today’s economy is no longer national, it is transnational. We have moved away from what some authors (Clark & Lloyd 2000, Reich 1991) have labelled the Fordist‐economy and into a post‐Fordist or informational networking (Castells 2000) production society. The traditional view that financial capital is a prerequisite for economic growth has been challenged by a belief in human capital in the form of an
educated and mobile workforce as the quintessence for economic growth (Reich 1990, Clark and Lloyd 2000, Clarke 2004, Clarke and Gaile 1998, Keating and Loughlin 1997). The level of economic development is no longer a question of the number of national industries, as the economy no longer is divided into national areas. The new economy is both global and regional (Clarke & Gaile 1998). As the globalization process has moved forth, the national, regional and local politicians have had to change their political strategies to meet new economic challenges. Cities and regions across the world are implementing innovative policy strategies and using culture and amenities to develop their regions into economic centers. To pin‐
point the argument: Cities are becoming entertainment machines as the political elites are trying to persuade educated and creative individuals to settling in their city or community.
1.1 What Is Going on In Norway?
So, why are cultural strategies relevant in Norway? The problem in Norway is as follows: peripheral and rural areas have, over the last decades, experienced a net migration. People are moving away and the rural populations are decreasing. The tendency over the last ten years has been that larger cities and areas surrounding them have had a net immigration, whereas most municipalities in northern Norway, northwest Norway and the rural portions of southern Norway have had a net migration (Statistics Norway 2007). In other words, there is an ongoing process of centralization. People are moving to the urbanized parts of Norway. A direct consequence of this is lower tax revenues and a corresponding rise in dependency on state finances in the areas hit by migration. The regional policy in Norway is searching for a solution to this problem. Cultural strategies could be a way out of the situation. The ongoing Norwegian debate on regional policy has been marked by two distinct trends. The first trend concerns the increased focus on the regional level of government as a development agent and less as a traditional service provider. The second trend is the declining weight of the rural areas (distrikts‐Norge) in the regional policy.
Traditionally, the regional policy in Norway, as in the rest of Europe, was an attempt to rectify market imperfections and redistribute resources better within the borders of the nation‐state (Keating 1997, Ellefsen 2005, Stortingsmelding nr 29 1988‐1989).
Within this context, Norwegian regional politicians sought to strengthen and uphold the population in the more rural areas of Norway (Bukve et. al 2004), in order to keep up tax revenue. The citizens were all part of what Reich (1991) labeled the
‘national economic system,’ which meant that no matter where in Norway you lived, you should be able to enjoy the same standard of living and receive the same services as the rest of the population. This position on regional policies as a system of redistribution with state run top‐down aid‐programs was the leading view until the 1970’s. This period was marked by policies like grants and incentives, restrictions on investments in booming locations and the investment in public infrastructure even before it was in demand (Keating 1997). Around 1980 there was a shift of focus within the political sphere. The regional policy field changed from relying heavily on top‐down programs to stressing a bottom‐up approach with a focus on development and “self‐help” (Onsager 2004; Bukve, Onsager & Selstad 2004; Amdam & Bukve 2004b). At the same time, the idea of national economies was faltering (Reich 1990).
This change meant a shift from government to governance, from a hierarchical to a dialogue‐ or network‐based approach to regional policy (Amdam & Bukve 2004a).
The change also meant a shift in understanding regions and society. In the post‐
modern state of Norway, terms like “learning regions”, network‐societies and regional partnerships were adopted. The 2000‐2001 white paper (Stortingsmelding nr. 34 2000‐2001) on regional policy stated, like the white paper from 1988‐1989 (Stortingsmelding nr 29 1988‐1989), that the focus of the regional policy should be on knowledge, innovation, competence, and human capital. The international trend had been moving toward the view that the main task for local and regional mayors was to position their region in the global economy through developing comparative advantages (Clarke & Gaile 1998). Now Norway was following suit.
The Norwegian regions should act as development agents and guidance counselors for the municipalities and private businesses, as well as stimulate the establishment of partnerships between local governments, private entrepreneurs and non‐
governmental organizations (Onsager 2004; Bukve et. al 2004). The counties should be regional or local entrepreneurs. This view was fronted in the 2006 white paper (Stortingsmelding nr. 12 2006‐2007) where the main focus was on utilizing the comparative advantages of each region. Empirical evidence shows that this change in politics has lead to a change in practice. Baldersheim (2000) found that the fylkeskommune were actively pursuing their new roles as development agents. They were in fact establishing partnerships with the state, private businesses and non‐
governmental organizations. Through these initiatives, they were able to boost their regional resources and put them to use.
During the 1990’s, yet another paradigm shift could be registered. The peripheral areas of Norway lost some of their political value as national politicians shifted their stance on regional policy. Where the classic attitude had been to seek to uphold the population in rural areas, the new attitude was to seek to strengthen the population and economic growth in all regions (Stortingsmelding nr 34 2000‐2001;
Stortingsmelding nr. 25 2004‐2005). The implication of this shift was that instead of wanting population growth in isolated areas, the politicians would now be satisfied as long as the regions as a whole had a stabile or growing population. This resulted in an increased attention toward the regional capitals and mid‐sized cities in Norway.
The shift was grounded in the cities’ important position in the development of the surrounding regions (Stortingsmelding nr 31 2002‐2003). In the next white paper on the regional policy (Stortingsmelding nr 21 2005‐2006) from the Labor‐led coalition cabinet, the new course of action was upheld. However, the need for balanced development in both urban and rural areas was also stressed (ibid)1. As Øgård (2001:143) writes, both cities and regions have become critical agents for economic development. This change of opinion was based on the escalating economic growth of the cities that followed the de‐industrialization process of the 1970’s had ended
1 The latter white paper (Stortingsmelding nr 21 2005‐2006) fronts a more traditional view on regional policy when the importance of the rural areas once again is stresses. However, this seems to be more of a change in rhetoric than in practice, as the strategies for regional development that are introduced, are the same as in the previous white papers.
(Bukve et. al. 2004) and the tertiary sector had started to grow. In other words, the Norwegian debate followed the international trends that focused on the importance of clusters of competence for research and innovation. From this point of view, cities were essential (ibid.). The cities were again in focus.
To conclude the Norwegian debate; Norway has followed the international trends described by Clarke & Gaile (1998). The Norwegian regions were, as was the case in the U.S, encouraged to act as entrepreneurs and development agents in order to make the most of their comparative advantages. The new focus on the cities is continuing along this line. Today, cities are regional growth engines (ibid.), and their surrounding areas benefit from the economic strength and cultural diversity of the cities. What differentiates the Norwegian debate on regional policy from the European and American trend of regional expansion (Loughlin & Peters 1997, Putnam 1993) is that instead of increasing the regional responsibilities; the Norwegian fylkeskommune has lost important responsibilities. This could open up new roles for the regional level. As they, in return for lost responsibility, have gained resources to nurture their development capabilities. Within this new framework of economic structures and absent responsibilities, the Norwegian regions, much like their European counterparts, are beginning to transcend the nation‐state (Keating &
Loughlin 1997); consequently, it is imperative that the comparative advantages of each area are utilized to its full potential. Moreover, cities have an advantage simply by being cities. Among the most crucial features that can be developed into the comparative advantages essential for attracting and establishing new businesses, human capital is paramount. In this perspective it is crucial that the local politicians are able to make the right policy choices to attain a high‐quality workforce. This leads me into the next section‐‐why is this subject of interest to a student of political science?
1.2 Why Is This Subject of Interest to Political Scientists?
First, this subject involves potential conflicts between supporters of different policies. Politicians can chose from a wide range of possible development strategies
in order to triumph in the global competition for capital and investments.
Traditionally, such strategies have involved tax incentives, lowering production costs for the businesses in the region and building or upgrading the region’s infrastructure or becoming a better service provider. Today, the development of natural, as well as constructed, amenities within the cultural sector is also considered an effective strategy. While some of these strategies are partly overlapping, others are conflicting. In the fierce competition for financial support, only a narrow range of strategies will win. Herein lies the potential conflict.
Creating a comparative geographical advantage has been an important strategy (Clarke and Gaile 1998:57); however, in today’s cities and regions, this strategy is no longer regarded as the only road to wealth and success (ibid:1). A change in the priorities of policies of the local officials and policy makers has been detected in the United States; is this true for Norway, too? Are these conflicts really an indicator of a new emerging political struggle, where supporters of traditional strategies‐‐such as
p l
becoming a better service provider‐‐are fighting against the su porters of cu ture?
This leads me to the second reason for studying this subject‐‐the growing significance of culture and the consumption of amenities is said to be related to the emergence of a new political culture (Clark 2004). Ronald Inglehart’s Silent Revolution (1977) first put forth the claim that Western populations were undergoing a value change from materialist to post‐materialist values. Clark (2004) has cultivated the ideas of Inglehart by introducing the consumption of amenities by the creative and educated elites in affluent societies. As the societies’ wealth has grown, materialist desires have been replaced by “quality of life” demands, such as culture and focus on environmental issues. The consumption of amenities is seen as a way of creating an identity, not to show off economic superiority, thus moving away from Veblen’s “conspicuous consumption” (Veblen 1899/1965) and his moral critique of consumption (Bugge 2006). In other words, a cultural strategy is not a modern version of Juvenal’s “bread and circuses” and the entertainment machine is not an attempt to pacify the electorate or arrange for its constituents to become modern Dorian Grays. The intention is to strengthen the local or regional economy by responding to the needs and wants of potential inhabitants, as well as those
already living in the area. In this sense, there is not necessarily a debate over whether or not to choose between providing better services or developing amenities.
It is instead simply a strategy to attract the needed human capital so that, for pulation increase
example, the service level can be upheld and the po d.
Third, the subject is important because it involves policy innovation. As the economic structures have changed, new policies have been innovated in order to meet the new needs of cities and regions. The public sector’s ability to adapt and respond with new policies addressing new problems is imperative in a period of rapid changes in modes of production and technology and a greater mobility of people and capital. Do local politicians manage to invent new policies? Clarke and Gaile argue that this is exactly what cities are doing: ...cities are adapting to restructuring and globalization trends with a range of policy choices unanticipated by scholars and unheard of just a few years ago... (Clarke & Gaile 1998:1). Does this apply to Norway, too?
1.3 Focus, Structure and Objectives.
The focus in this thesis paper will be on the case of Norway. The literature on this subject has so far been concentrated on America; however a new political culture has been observed in Europe, too; especially in Germany (Gabriel et. al. 1998). This study is an attempt to apply the theory concerning the new political culture and entertainment/culture to the Norwegian political society. In light of the ongoing Norwegian debate on the future of the regional political and administrative level, this is getting more and more interesting, as even the existence of the fylkeskommune now is up for debate. The Official Norwegian Report (NOU) on the subject (NOU 2000:2) has recommended a new regional structure consisting of 10 ‐ 15 large regions, each with responsibility for the counties in fields like regional development, specialized health care, child welfare and “care for substance abusers” (rusomsorg).
In spite of this report, the counties have been stripped of their responsibility for these tasks. To compensate for this loss, the fylkeskommune was promised more financial resources to extend its role as an economic development agent. Whether or not the counties so far have succeeded in this field is a contentious issue. According
to the 2006 white paper on regional policy (Stortingsmelding nr 12 2006‐2007), they have failed; however, others argue the opposite (Baldersheim 2000). Despite the disputed success rate, the white paper stresses that, in the near future, the regions shall be the leading players within regional development, and that their planning capacities must be improved (ibid.). Thus, it can be expected that Norwegian regional politicians are willing to invent and implement new strategies.
I seek to study the use of cultural strategies in light of regional development. The analysis’ main focus will not be on how these strategies work, the actual extent of these strategies or even whether they are effective or not. The analysis will scrutinize Norwegian local and regional politicians’ attitudes toward cultural strategies. The data and the design of the thesis reflect this. However, the theoretical section will, to a certain extent, deal with how and why these strategies work.
The data was collected during the fall and winter of 2006/07 as part of the research project Norden i regionenes Europa, using a postal survey in which I had the opportunity to include questions regarding cultural strategies. The data will be presented in the second chapter. This chapter will also discuss the background for these cultural strategies and how the theory on entertainment and culture is built up.
The chapter ends with the presentation of a hypothesis. In the third chapter, methodological questions are discussed and the variables based on the hypotheses are operationalized. Chapter Four will analyze the data and test the hypotheses brought forth in Chapter Two‐‐this will mainly be done through the use of regression analysis. The fifth and final chapter will conclude on the findings in Chapter Four.
1.4 What Is a Cultural Strategy?
Before I move on to the theoretical discussion, I will give a short explanation as to what a cultural strategy is. The term ‘culture’ is frought with many connotations; a more precise definition is therefore warranted. When I use the phrase “culture as a regional development strategy,” I ascribe to culture a rather broad meaning. First, the term ‘strategy’ reflects the institutionalized nature of today’s culture
(Nilson2003:34). First of all, culture includes the construction of buildings intended to house cultural productions, such as a symphony hall or an opera house – i.e. the most institutionalized parts of the cultural life. Second, it includes the production of a theatrical play, a symphonic concert, or a painting. Moreover, culture in this thesis, is understood as both the parts of the cultural life that can exist in a free market and the culture that is in need of public finances in order to survive (Nilson 2003:484).
The implication of this is that also parts of the cultural life that traditionally has been seen as independent of the public agenda on culture, now is taken into account when creating a cultural strategy or cultural policies.
The two first statements above can be classified as a more traditional approach to culture. However, I want to apply a broader definition. Therefore, thirdly, a cultural strategy also represents the production and consumption of natural amenities like recreational opportunities and city beautification. Moreover, also what is labelled
“commercial” culture is a part of this understanding of culture. Last, but not the least, as the art and cultural life is becoming more and more integrated with the production system and the knowledge‐system (Nilson 2003:318), cultural strategies are becoming strategies to increase the competence and knowledge in society. Clark (2004b) takes the importance of knowledge one step further in his understanding of
‘cultural strategies’ as the creation and/or development of existing natural or constructed amenities with the intention of attracting human and financial resources to the region. Thus, improving the knowledge and competence in the region affected.
1.5 Cultural Strategies in Norway.
These cultural strategies have been applied in Norway too. This section will illustrate the definition of cultural strategies through introducing some examples of how culture is used as a development tool in the city of Kristiansand and the county of Vest‐Agder. The municipality of Kristiansand, in the Vest‐Agder County, is a city that seems to have acknowledged the notion that jobs alone not are enough to attract people to an area. The assumption relies on two facts. First, Kristiansand has an overall plan for the cultural sector which explicitly states that culture, business and
the development of the city are linked together. The municipality’s strategic plan on culture (Kristiansand kommune 2007b) introduces ten objectives for its cultural policies. The ten objectives will not be presented here, however several concern what has been labeled ‘cultural strategies.’ Objective Number One states that Kristiansand should be an attractive city to live and work in, a city in which quality of life and a sense of belonging are central values (ibid: 3). Moreover, the list of objectives emphasizes that the cultural policy in Kristiansand is part of a general regional development strategy. Finally, the policy on culture should contribute to the establishment of a culture‐based education and research program, as well as a culture‐based business sector. The plan on culture expands from this into the meaning of culture for the development of the city life. In this field, the plan stresses that citizens’ need for an identity and experiences is a central element of the modern cultural habitat in which the citizens increasingly become consumers of culture. The practical implication of this thought is that in order to meet the modern culture‐
consuming citizen, Kristiansand must focus on culture‐based businesses. In other words, an instrumental approach to culture is necessary. Within this school of thought, the cultural sector is seen as a significant contributor to the general economic growth in the region, in addition to being an important employer. To reach the objectives stated in the plan, several important tasks and priorities are listed, such as the construction of a theatre/ concert hall, Agder Theater, the city’s Cinema, museums, city beautification, festivals, development of the library and programs for youth culture (ibid.). Basically, Kristiansand is using culture as a method to attract and develop a competence‐ and knowledge‐based workforce. To meet the requirements of this group of workers, the city has developed the cultural sector’s infrastructure and is focusing on providing a city centre that is visually attractive,
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energetic and safe in a pattern similar to that set up by Flori a a d Clark.
The second fact concerning the cultural commitment in Kristiansand is the establishment of Cultiva, a foundation set up to provide financial support to the cultural sector. The foundation of Cultiva was grounded in a wish to maintain control of the profit garnered by selling shares in a local energy producer. The amount earned from the sale was approximately 1.4 billion NOK (www.cultiva.no/english).
The annual returns from the foundation’s investments are spent in such a way that it benefits the citizens of Kristiansand by securing jobs and good living conditions (ibid.). To meet this criterion, Cultiva supports projects within the educational and cultural sector that can contribute to innovation, development and competence‐
building in Kristiansand. Financial support is primarily given to projects within one of the four following fields: 1) strengthening the climate for creative and innovative thinking, thus creating an attractive region, 2) non‐commercial projects and businesses, 3) commercial concentration – projects that create lasting jobs and 4) projects that add to the development of Kristiansand as a competence‐center within the field of experience economy (Cultiva 2006). In 2006, a total of 27 million NOK was paid out to festivals, research projects, filmmakers, musicians, opera and theatrical productions, museums, conferences, and different projects aimed at marketing the city of Kristiansand (ibid.). In Kristiansand, a cultural sector with a budget of approximately 110 million NOK in 2006, (Kristiansand kommune 2007a) Cultiva accounts for app. 20 % of the total public funding of culture. In other words, the foundation is a significant contributor to the cultural sector in Kristiansand.
The sale of the energy producer, Agder Energi, in the Vest‐Agder region, did not only lead to the founding of Cultiva, however. In 2000, the fifteen local authorities2 in Vest‐Agder County, including Kristiansand, donated shares worth 590 million NOK for the establishment of a regional competence development fund, Sørlandets Kompetansefond. The foundation’s objective is to:
…contribute to improved competence in the county of Vest‐Agder in order to secure and create jobs and good living conditions, including assisting in the development of the University of Southern Norway.
(Sørlandets kompetansefond, Articles of Association)
2 The fifteen local authorities are Kristiansand, Mandal, Farsund, Flekkefjord, Vennesla, Songdalen, Søgne, Mandal, Åseral, Audnedal, Lindesnes, Lyngdal, Hægebostad, Kvinesdal and Sirdal.
The Article of Association reveals an objective that is similar to the aims of Cultiva and the objectives stated in Kristiansand’s strategy document; to secure a good and attractive city/region in which to live and work. The competence development fund prioritizes three strategic areas; 1) establishment and development of competence‐
bases, 2) utilization of these competence‐bases, and 3) stimulation of new and existing industry and businesses (Sørlandets kompetansefond 2007). In 2006, the competence fund granted 50 million NOK to, among others, the construction of a
“knowledge‐park” in Kristiansand, PhD programs, projects to improve the teaching of mathematics (TBM) in elementary school and a conference on experience economy (Sørlandets kompetansefond 2006).
In 2005, the municipality of Kristiansand decided to construct a new theater and concert hall, later named Kilden. This is an excellent example of a partnership strategy for regional development. This building was to be a regional house of culture for the citizens of Sørlandet, not exclusively for Kristiansand’s citizens. To achieve this, the construction was organized as an inter‐municipal company and the funding of the construction was split between the county of Vest‐Agder, the local authority of Kristiansand, the Norwegian state, and Cultiva (Valvik 2007).
The total cost of the construction is 1, 1 billion NOK. The opening of Kilden is estimated to take place in 2011. The inhabitants of Sørlandet will then enjoy a theater and concert hall that houses the local symphony orchestra, Opera Sør, and the regional theater, as well as displaying the regional cultural life of Sørlandet. The building will be situated on the old port in Kristiansand. The structure of the financial funding of this project is an example of how local agents, through the establishment of partnerships, can increase the funds available to their region.
Another example of the partnership model is Global Future. The project aims to mobilize the segment of the immigrant population with higher education living in Sørlandet. The partners are, among others, the two counties of Aust‐ and Vest‐
Agder, Cultiva, LO, NHO, Agder College University, Kristiansand municipality and the Directorate of Integration and Diversity (http://www.cultiva.no/Global). The main objective of Global Future is to utilize an unused and competent workforce,
contributing to overall growth in the region. Other objectives are to work toward a functional and inclusive labor market, and to create incentives to start up new businesses and venture thinking. In this strategy lies a wish that Sørlandet will excel and market the region as an attractive place in which to live.
The examples show a wide range of initiatives that all seek to develop the region.
Attraction is a word that is used on multiple occasions, and this reveals a strong desire to increase the population, as well as satisfy the citizens of the region. Culture is one of many strategies that are implemented in this struggle. All the approaches mentioned here aim at strengthening the knowledge and competence of the region’s workforce and citizens. This use of new strategies has, however, not garnered universal support.
The unwillingness to support cultural strategies has created a debate in Kristiansand, a city that has come a long way in implementing new and partly innovative strategies. Members of Demokratene (D), a right‐wing Norwegian political party, have actively criticized the official policy on culture in the regional newspaper (Kleppe & Messel 2007), where they questioned the municipality’s spending on culture instead of providing food with a higher nutritional value to the city’s elderly population. Moreover, D and Fremskrittspartiet (FrP) were both against the establishing of Cultiva, Kristiansand’s newly‐established foundation for financial support to the cultural sector. Instead, they suggested spending the money on welfare (Kristiansand kommune 2006). FrP also opposed the construction of Kilden theater and concert hall (Bystyret 2007). This debate illustrates the controversy around cultural strategies, as well as underlining the fact that these strategies are actually being used!
CHAPTER 2
A Theoretical Point of Departure
In this chapter, I will establish a theoretical framework within which the data will be analyzed and interpreted. This framework will consist of a theoretical argument set up to answer the following question: why is culture becoming a strategy for regional economical development? The first part of the chapter will culminate in the presentation of the first hypothesis and dependent variable in the analysis. The second part will focus on the prerequisites necessary in order to answer the question: who are the politicians most likely to favor cultural strategies? Since politicians are my objects of study, each passage will end with the presentation of a hypothesis concerning the variation in the dependent variable. Each hypothesis represents an independent variable.
2.1 The Work of Nations: A Theoretical Point of Departure
The theoretical argument starts with the work of Robert Reich, especially his book The Work of Nations: Preparing ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism (1991). With the American society as an example, he responded to the fact that the modes of production in industrialized societies had changed. Traditionally, modern, western industry had high‐volume production as the ultimate goal; however, toward the end of the 20th century, the production mode had shifted to producing high‐value goods.
As the high volume production of goods made for the large markets of middle class Americans and Europeans failed to generate the large earnings this mode of production once had generated, the larger Western firms shifted their focus and locked it upon supplying particular customers with goods produced to meet their particular needs (Reich 1991:82pp). This new process was the result of the fact that the nations that had formerly chosen a policy of protection of home markets were becoming less and less able to secure their nations’ standard of living solely through domestic production. The protection of national business in America had helped
turned out to be unsustainable when Japanese and European firms became able to produce standard goods cheaper and sometimes even better than American firms (ibid: 71pp).
This enlarged competition in the home markets increased the need for “home companies” to cut costs and improve quality. Standard goods were imported from nations that could produce at lower costs. This resulted in a globalization of production. Products formerly designated “Made in America” or “Made in Germany”
were no longer made in the US or Germany. A car might have been assembled in Detroit, but its components were produced in Europe, South‐East Asia or Japan. The car had been produced in what Reich terms “the Global Web” (ibid: 110). With the globalization of production, national economies became part of the global economy, leaving the term “national” more and more superfluous. From this change, Reich argues, follows that one must see the …future of American society as distinct from the American economy… (ibid: 9). The implication of the global economy, unattached to any nation‐state is that …All that will remain rooted within national borders are the people who comprise a nation… (ibid: 3). Hence, the people’s skills and insights are the primary assets of the nation. America’s competitiveness is no longer a function of how well GE and IBM are doing, but instead lies in how much the world is prepared to spend on services performed by Americans because
…The real economic challenge facing the United States in the years ahead – the same as that facing every other nation – is to increase the potential value of what its citizens can add to the global economy, by enhancing their skills and capacities…
(Reich 1991: 8).
In his book, Reich moves on to criticize the old division of the labor force into either business class or working class. As a response to this, he comes up with three new categories that he believes would better describe the laborer’s different positions in the economic hierarchy, routine production services, inperson services and symbolic analytic services (ibid; 174p). Each category corresponds to the three different competitive positions in which workers find themselves. Workers in the routine production services are, as the label indicates, performing routine tasks. This category contains traditional blue collar jobs, as well as those performing routine supervisory
jobs. These jobs are, however, not only found in heavy industry, but also in the high‐
tech industry, among others. Inperson services are services that must be provided person‐to‐person. The tasks they perform are also simple and repetitive. The person‐
to‐person dimension means that these services are not sold worldwide, because the worker must be physically present at the scene where the work is delivered. The third category is symbolicanalytic services. The workers in this sector include those working with problem‐solving, problem‐identifying, and strategic‐brokering activities. This group of workers, along with the workers in the first category, can, unlike the in‐person service personnel, be replaced with workers all over the world.
They are thus competing with others providing the same services in the global market over the opportunity to receive a paycheck.
Who are the Symbolic Analysts?
Reich’s eyes are on the latter category, the symbolic analysts. He argues that this category is the winner in the new system of global economies. The symbolic analyst, trained in skills such as abstraction, system thinking, experimentation and collaboration, possesses knowledge that is crucial in order to succeed in the global web. She or he is typically a scientist, a design engineer, an investment banker or a public relations executive, and her job title is Communications Strategy Director or Creative Management Adviser (Reich 1991:183). This group of workers is highly exposed to global competition; however, they have a tendency to cluster together in what Reich calls symbolic‐analytic zones, where they specialize in …common kind of problemsolving, identifying, and –brokering. (ibid: 234). The meaning and value of these zones is treasured around the world because clusters like Silicon Valley, Hollywood or Wall Street cannot easily be duplicated anywhere else (ibid: 235). No matter how strongly a state or region might wish to develop its own Silicon Valley, this is a task that takes more than money. These zones represent skills, knowledge and institutions that have evolved over time. Even though the inventions and knowledge created in these zones are shared and transported to other states, cities and people, the cumulative, shared learning that have made innovation possible do not travel around the globe at the same speed. Within these clusters the participants gain from the insights of others. Rapid, informal communication among the workers
increases the possibility of sharing information and expertise. Being in the zone is important for the individual trying to move up in “the business”.
Being in the zone is also important for those who are not symbolic analysts. Due to the number of workers in these areas and the type of work they do, the demand for different types of in‐person services in the region also grows. In this way, the zones are creating jobs for workers outside of the symbolic‐analytic services. This contributes to an increased economic and population growth, which again creates new demands, thereby contributing to an even greater growth and development rate in symbolic‐analytic zones (ibid: 238p). Their effect on the regional economy expands therefore beyond the worth of each film, microchip or financial service provided, and lines the pockets of cashiers, waiters, chauffeurs and secretaries. These zones are regional growth machines.
2.1.2 The Network Society and G
Manuel Castells writes in his book, The Rise of the Network Society (1996/2000), about the impact of the Informational Revolution on work and productivity. He argues that a new economy emerged in the last 25 years of the 20
lobalized Elites.
th century on the basis of the above‐mentioned revolution and its consequences for production and manufacturing. The new informational, global and networked (Castells 2000:77) economy corresponds to Reich’s global web. He states that the economy is informational because it is based on the ability of central players to …generate, process, and apply efficiently knowledgebased information… (ibid: 77). The economy is global because its components are globally organized. Lastly, the new economy is networked because productivity and competition is played out in a worldwide network of interaction between business networks (ibid.).
Castells argues that in this new, global economy, the concept of competitive advantage is of increasing importance (Castells 2000:122p). Strategic alliances, ad‐
hoc cooperation projects, decentralized units and networks are the new structures of production. The combination of these elements in a firm or an enterprise is essential to the firms’ place in the global competition and hence is determining whether the firm can survive in the global jungle. Within this new economy, some authors have
claimed that labor follows production and is thus going through a process of globalization. However, Castells argues, this is not true for all groups of workers.
Only the specialized fraction of the work force is in high demand in the entire world.
Who Belongs to Castells’ Globalized Workforce?
This specialized and globalized group of workers comprises anyone that has the capacity to add an exceptional value to any market, and because this group is
…decisive to the performance of business networks, of media networks, and of political networks… the market for most valuable labor is indeed becoming globalized…
(Castells 2000:130).
The global worker typically belongs to the group of high‐level professionals that inhabits positions such as high‐level business manager or financial analysts.
Alternatively they can be scientists, engineers or computer programmers, designers, artists, sports stars, political consultants or professional criminals (ibid: 130). The global worker is not unlike Reich’s symbolic analysts; in fact, Castells uses this term himself to describe the global workforce (ibid: 295).
2.2.2 From Symbolic Analysts to Creative Class Members
I want to stick to the subject of symbolic analysts a little longer before I take the argument one step further. In 2002, Robert Florida published The Rise of the Creative Class… and how it’s transforming work, leisure, community, & everyday life. His work focuses on the consequences of new production modes and technologies that were analyzed by Reich and Castells. He argues that in this world of new production, there is a new class emerging; the Creative Class. The class is constituted of scientists, engineers, artists, musicians and people working in knowledge‐based professions, i.e.
Reich’s Symbolic Analysts or Castells’ globalized workforce. Not unlike the two theorists, he claims that the function of the Creative Class within the economic production hierarchy is to add economic value to different processes through their creativity (ibid: 68).
The members of the Creative Class see themselves, not surprisingly, as members of a creative force. They are mobile and prone to moving around (ibid: 79), seeking other creative environments; hence linking the economic geography to class identity (Florida 2002:11). This corresponds to Reich’s ideas about Symbolic‐Analytic Zones;
the talented young workers cluster together in zones where they can exchange skills, information and even jobs. Florida draws up a picture of blossoming creative zones rich in talent, technology and tolerance that act as magnets on talented individuals.
In this sense, these creative zones are talent aggregators (Florida 2002:30). The creative class members are drawn to …organic and indigenous streetlevel culture…
(ibid: 182), in areas where both the creators and the patrons of the culture live near each other. This culture is clustered around streets with certain types of small venues like music bars, art galleries, and small‐ to mid‐sized theatres for film or live performance and coffee bars, hence the label street‐level. In other words, culture and art are both being produced and experienced in these areas. The venues and the inhabitants of the streets, together, make up a cultural community. Visitors that enter this community to watch a play or drink a tall latte get to experience more than just a play or a cup of coffee; they experience a way of living. Creative Class members might occasionally visit “big‐ticket” football games or high‐art cultural events, but the street‐level culture is their way of life (ibid: 183p).
2.2.3 Fourth Wave Politicians and Working Cities.
This section takes the argument one level further from street‐level culture and into the world of policy making. Susan E. Clarke and Gary L. Gaile published in 1998, The Work of Cities. This work was inspired by the ideas that Reich put on to paper in The Work of Nations (Clarke & Gaile 1998: ix). Their starting point is the actions and policy choices of cities and regions in a climate of national retrenchment, rapid globalization and economic restructuring. The two authors take Reich’s thoughts one step further, through adding a regional dimension to the argument. They claim the shift from many national economies to one global economy and the rise of the global web has not only meant a transcendence of scale upward from the national administrative level to the international level; this change has also meant a
downward transcendence on the geographic scale (ibid: 4), in which regions and localities have become important administrative, decision and economic arenas.
Drawing on Reich’s ideas, the authors guide the reader through six propositions on the local policy, thus presenting a short version of their main argument. First, a new geography of value‐added production processes underlies the work of cities. Second, economic and geographic changes encourage shifts in national relations. Third, local political arenas are expanding as localities receive more entrepreneurial economic roles and broader political responsibilities. Fourth, different localities choose different paths when responding to globalization depending on contextual variables.
Fifth, a fourth wave of policy initiatives tries to link the localities to the global web and invest in human capital
…local policy initiatives investing in human capital initiatives and linking local economies to global markets through trade and telecommunications strategies…
(Clarke & Gaile 1998: 9).
Sixth, lack of attention to the erosion of citizenship and social capital will help undermine development efforts (ibid: 5‐10).
In short, as the economy is changing and the competition between regions escalates, local politicians meet the new challenges with innovative policies attempting to strengthen the competitiveness of their constituency. In essence, this competition is a fight over the symbolic workers or the creative class members (Baldersheim 2001:117) that combines the ideas of Reich, Castells and Florida. Clarke & Gaile argue that we are seeing a new geography of value‐added processes, centered on the local accumulation of human capital. The changes in production, outlined by Reich, encourage a new localism, with cities and localities looking for new economic and political roles. The main task for the local mayors in the new geography is to link local business to the global web. However, the two authors argue, globalization is not a one‐way street; although local wealth is shaped in a global force, the different localities are taking part in shaping these global processes (Ibid:31). Economic and political functions are being transferred from the national level to the regional and local level, but not through a top‐down enacted process, because the national level has lost its opportunity to be a development agent. The nation‐state is still important,
but now as an enabler for localities, not a regulator (ibid: 34). Instead local mayors must fight for their communities’ local competitive advantages as the state no longer possesses the tools needed to fight for the national competitiveness.
So what do the sub‐national politicians do to link their business to the global web?
Clarke & Gaile stress the US cities’ newfound roles as entrepreneurial cities that promote innovative economic growth strategies. However, this is not a simple task.
With little state finances they have had an incentive to implement policies that contribute to the city’s economic development in order to raise tax revenues.
Simultaneously, the cities must satisfy their citizens’ need for services in addition to jobs‐‐not doing so would mean a difficult re‐election campaign. However, with low tax revenues, paying for services is even harder. To deal with this political Catch‐22, local and regional politicians are on a constant search for new policy approaches (ibid: 55).
The policy objectives, then, are to work out local economic development strategies that will increase revenue stability, decrease vulnerability to external “shocks”, provide good jobs to local citizens, and increase the overall satisfaction of city residents (…) Because they increasingly rely on local resources, local officials have strong incentives to find the most efficient uses of their funds for development purposes.
(Clarke and Gaile 1998:55)
In spite of limited resources, cities are continuing to use entrepreneurial strategies which have substantial opportunity costs and risks for their own revenues.
The argument so far states that a globalized working elite is emerging. The members of this elite are working in knowledge‐based professions, professions which are as in‐demand in China as they are in Germany. This part of the labor force is labeled symbolic analysts by Reich. The symbolic analysts, although in high demand, are also exposed to global competition, as a European system analyst, to a certain degree, can be replaced with a Japanese one. However, as Castells argues, this group’s expertise is highly valued and they therefore have the…chance to shop [for jobs] around the globe… (Castells 2000:130). As both Reich and Florida point out, symbolic analysts or creative class members tend to cluster in zones with other specialized workers.
These zones, rich in Creative Class members, tolerance, talent, and technology, also
promote growth in adjacent sectors and areas. Clarke & Gaile add that there is a regional dimension to the puzzle and that local political arenas are experiencing increased importance as the globalization process and economic change continues.
In other words, there is an economic incentive for a region or a city to join in the competition over this group of workers. In order to do this, Clarke & Gaile argue that politicians are innovating policies as a response to the need of their particular city or region. The question that then needs to be answered is this: what characterizes the symbolicanalytic zones, or: which policies improve a region’s or city’s competitiveness?
2.2.4 Local and Regional Policy Responses: Improving Competitiveness and Creating Entertainment Machines
Terry Nichols Clark might provide us with the answer to this question. He edited The City as an Entertainment Machine (2004a), in which he picks up the thread where it was left by Reich, Castells, Florida and Clarke & Gaile and contributes to the theory by including the concept of consumption. He continues down the road of Clarke &
Gaile when stressing the meaning of local policy choices and the role of cities. His argument is that the supply of natural and constructed amenities is central to where the Creative Class settles. He attacks the traditional conception of what drives cities, namely work and production. This belief according to Clark is simply wrong in today’s world. His response to this mistake is to explore the reversing of the causal process that has been assumed to drive urban growth (Clark 2004b:1). The traditional growth model has a built‐in division between work and culture, with culture subordinate in explanatory power to work (Clark, Lloyd et. al. 2004: 291).
The trends emerging parallel with globalization and post‐industrial societies have contributed to the increase in the importance of culture as an explanation of urban economic growth. Clark suggests that the causal relationship in traditional growth models should be reversed and that …consumption, amenities, and culture [should be recognized] as drivers of urban policy… (Clark 2004b:2). His argument is that with increased capital and business mobility, independent of distinct geography or localities, the meaning of location has changed. Location near a river does not provide cheap energy or competitive advantages for microchip producers. Instead, the challenge for new business is to locate where they can easily find and attract
