Boyle, Mark (2006) Culture in the Rise of Tiger Economies: Scottish Expatriates in Dublin and the 'Creative Class' Thesis. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 30 (2). pp. 403-426. ISSN 0309-1317

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Abstract

This article evaluates the contributions which Richard Florida's seminal ‘creative class’ thesis might make to ongoing efforts to re-inscribe ‘culture’ back into political economy explanations of the rise of Tiger economies. It reflects upon the value of reconsidering both the role of skilled migrants in Tiger states and the factors which attract skilled migrants to these economies in the first instance. Based upon analyses of a series of focus groups conducted with Scottish expatriates currently working in Dublin, the article specifically attempts to gauge how far the creative class thesis can be stretched to account for the locational preferences of talented migrants. Whilst Florida's work undoubtedly sheds light on aspects of expatriate existence which might not otherwise have been obvious, its ability to account for the relationships which have existed between technology, talent and tolerance in the Celtic Tiger must be questioned. Moreover, if political economy and Floridian readings are to do more than simply inform one another, there will be a need to establish more clearly the complex ways in which developmental states intersect with skill flows and cosmopolitan cultural agendas.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Postprint version of original published article. The definitive version is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2006.00661.x/abstract. The author would like to acknowledge the financial support received from both ScotEcon and the Gebbie Legacy which made this research possible. Acknowledgements go to Suzanne Motherwell who carried out the focus groups upon which the article is based. Thanks go to the Leverhulme Trust who provided the author with a Leverhulme Fellowship which allowed this research to be written up.
Keywords:	Culture; Tiger Economies; Scottish Expatriates; Ireland; 'Creative Class' Thesis;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography
Item ID:	2986
Depositing User:	Mark Boyle
Date Deposited:	19 Jan 2012 10:52
Journal or Publication Title:	International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
Publisher:	Blackwell Publishing
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1...
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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