Publication Date
5-2024
Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)
2-26-2024
Type of Culminating Activity
Dissertation
Degree Title
Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy and Administration
Department Filter
Public Administration
Department
Public Policy and Administration
Supervisory Committee Chair
Amanda J. Ashley, Ph.D.
Supervisory Committee Member
Stephanie Witt, Ph.D.
Supervisory Committee Member
Shoshanah B.D. Goldberg-Miller, Ph.D.
Supervisory Committee Member
Carolyn Loh, Ph.D.
Abstract
The creative economy is a relatively new policy arena focusing on the consumption and production of culture and cultural products, urban development and placemaking, intellectual property protection, entrepreneurship and innovation, tourism, sustainability, and social impact. Despite its documented growth in U.S. cities in the past twenty years, we know very little about how these policy innovations spread, or about who advocates for them. To contribute to public policy research and the creative economy sector, I ask the following overarching question: How are emerging creative economy policy innovations spread, adopted and implemented in cities identified as highly creative in the United States? To expand on this foundational question, I ask a series of supporting questions aiming to explore related problems, policy solutions, policy actors, barriers, and implementation methods. I deploy a qualitative methodology, conducting semi-structured interviews with 27 purposefully selected cultural and creative economy leaders in 13 U.S. cities. Using NVivo coding software I analyze the data through the theoretical lenses of Diffusion Theory, Multiple Streams Framework and Complexity Theory. I find that no single theory is sufficient to explain how creative economy policy is made, although they each theory capture some aspects. I present 4 primary findings with supportive sub-findings. My research project contributes to the public policy field by extending the application of theories in a sector where they have not previously been applied together. It contributes to the creative economy field by exploring how multiple theories contribute to understanding the ways policy innovations spread and are adopted in this sector.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.18122/td.2230.boisestate
Recommended Citation
Bubb, Matilda Rose, "Exploring Creative Economy Policy Change in United States Cities: An Interconnected Theoretical Approach Framing an Emerging Field and Practice" (2024). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. 2230.
https://doi.org/10.18122/td.2230.boisestate
