Innovativeness, creativity and public policy: anecdotes, conventional wisdoms and evidence

In this article, the key implicit assumptions embedded within the Creative Britain agendas are identified and the explicit or representative ‘evidence base’ associated with these assumptions outlined. An attempt has been made to identify the weaknesses, contradictions and gaps in this evidence. Some persistence in these evidence gaps is discerned alongside a reluctance to explicitly engage with ‘non-supportive’ research findings. Recourse to public choice economics is made to sketch a systematic and intuitively plausible series of explanations for this persistence and reluctance, and to frame an alternative policy course and set of guiding principles.