The document analyzes Jordan's creative industries and economy. It finds that while Jordan's real GDP grew significantly between 2005-2011, growth slowed in 2010-2011. Foreign direct investment also increased over this period but at a decreasing rate. Jordan imports much more than it exports, resulting in large trade deficits. The unemployment rate has remained high between 12-15%. While Jordan has human and technological capital to support its creative industries, resources are not highly sophisticated. Demand for creative products has increased since the Arab Awakening, but government support for these industries remains limited through restrictive policies and lack of intellectual property protection.

1. Mapping the Creative
Industries in Jordan
2012
Yusuf Mansur

2. Economy of Jordan
• Real GDP at market
prices grew at an
average annual rate of
6.65% between 2005
and 2011
• The growth rate
slowed in 2010 to
2.3%, 2.6% in 2011
Real GDP Growth Rate (%),
2005-2011
2
9.00%
8.00%
7.00%
6.00%
5.00%
4.00%
3.00%
2.00%
1.00%
0.00%
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Source: Central Bank of Jordan

3. Economy of Jordan
• For the period of 2005-
2011 net inflows of
foreign direct
investment (FDI)
amounted to a total of
JD 12,290 million
• The average annual
growth rate was -8.1%
• FDI peaked in 2006
and reached its lowest
point during 2011
Foreign Direct Investment, 2005-2011
3,000.00
2,500.00
2,000.00
1,500.00
1,000.00
500.00
• FDI rose again in 2012 0.00
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Source: Central Bank of Jordan

4. Economy of Jordan
• Jordan imports almost twice the amount it exports
• Imports increased from JD 7.4 billion in 2005 to JD 11
billion in 2011, an average annual increase of 11.2%
• Jordan’s trade deficit reached JD 5.895 billion in 2011
• Throughout the past decade, the unemployment rate
has been hovering between 15.3% and 12.3%
• There is a severe case of structural unemployment, a
mismatch between the skills of workers seeking
employment and the demand in the labor market
• The CPI, a measure of inflation, increased by 38.84
from 94.125to 129.967 during the period 2005-2011

5. Jordan Ranking in Major
Economic Indices
• Ranked 71st out of 142 countries, falling 6
places from 65th place in 2010/2011
Global
Competitiveness
Report, 2011/2012
• Ranked 111th out of 183 countries, falling 4
places from 107th place in 2010
Doing Business
Report, 2011

6. The Creative Economy
Creativity comes in various forms, as in the figure
presented below:
Scientific
Creativity
Cultural
Creativity
Economic
Creativity
Technological
Creativity

7. The Creative Economy
Manifestations
of creativity
(outputs and
outcomes)
Cultural
capital
Social capital
Structural or
institutional
capital
Human
capital
Four Types of Capital

8. The Creative Economy
According to the UNCTAD Creative Economy Report 2010,
creative industries are defined as:
– The cycles of creation, production and distribution of
goods and services that utilize creativity and intellectual
capital as main inputs;
– A set of knowledge-based activities, focused on but not
limited to arts, that potentially generate revenues from trade
and IPRs
– Tangible products and intangible intellectual or artistic
services that have creative content, economic value and
market orientation
– Intersect the artisan, services and industrial sectors.

10. The Creative Economy
The statistical correlation between the Global Competitiveness Index and
GDP per capita stands at 0.84. The Global Creativity Index also has a close
association with the Global Competitiveness Index, the correlation is 0.79

11. 11
Mapping Competitiveness: Porter Diamond
Factor
Conditions
Strategy, Structure
&
Rivalry
Demand
Conditions
Clusters &
Clustering
Government

12. Demand Conditions
• A slight majority of demand originates locally
• In all industries the majority of demand is
patterned except for Books and Press in which half
of the demand is patterned
• Cyclical demand is the prevalent type of demand
in all the industries except in Performance and
Celebration
• Price is the main factor affecting demand in all the
industries except in Performance and Celebration
in which trends is the main factor
• Quality is the driving factor in the pricing of
creative services and products
12

13. Demand Conditions
• Customers are not adequately knowledgeable of
industry trends
• The Arab Awakening has increased demand
• Jordan is capable of handling increased demand
• The Arab Awakening has changed the work culture
and environment
• The nature of the creative content has changed
with the advent of the Arab Awakening
• The quality and sophistication of the creative
content has increased
13

14. Factor Conditions
• Equipment is new, yet lacking in sophistication
• Focus is mainly on a few projects (77% complete 30
projects or less)
• Projects are small
• A majority view the global market as open to their
activities
• Global connectivity is high
• Regional markets are open
• Connectivity to global markets is higher than
connectivity to regional markets
• Medium to low availability of quality human
resources
• Medium availability of technology
14

15. Clusters & Clustering
• In all industries except in the Audio-Visual and Interactive
Media, less than 15% of the stakeholders have agreements
in place with supporting industries
• Between 31%-44% of stakeholders in all industries utilize
services and products from supporting industries
• Those stakeholders using products and services from
supporting industries, use them frequently
• Supporting industries are reliable
• Relationships with suppliers from other industries are long
term
• The large majority of relationships are project based
• Suppliers are relatively reliable in terms of quality
consistency
• The majority of suppliers are local
15

16. Government
• The majority say there are no policy restrictions on new
entry
• The government is not responsive to stakeholders’ needs
• Government agreements with other countries do slightly
harm stakeholders
• Monopolistic practices are apparent and harm businesses
• It is difficult to find both local and regional investors
• The regulator limits the growth of companies
• Customs are very high and higher than those of surrounding
countries
• Government legislation and procedures do not help exports
reach their potential
• Intellectual property rights are not protected
• Problems faced with regard to IPR are not being solved
16

17. Strategy, Structure, & Rivalry
• The main competitors to Jordan are Lebanon, United
Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt
• Price is the most important factor in being competitive
with regional competitors
• The majority of stakeholders are not members of
professional associations
• Stakeholders receive minimal support from
professional associations
• Information on industry trends is widely accessible
• Insufficient finance and limited markets are the main
factors affecting demand
17

18. Thank You