Agglomeration of creative industries: An intra-metropolitan analysis for Barcelona

In this paper we analyse the intensity and extent of agglomeration and co-agglomeration of creative industries (CIs) in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (MAB). To do so, we use firm-level geo-located data to calculate distance-based M and m functions of agglomeration and co-agglomeration. Our results show that CIs are relatively more agglomerated than non-CIs at short distances, and that each individual CI sector displays high levels of agglomeration (especially symbolic-based sectors). Also, the co-agglomeration of CIs and Non-CIs is only observed for micro-firms and that there is significant co-agglomeration among symbolic-based CI sectors. Finally, we confirm the role of the city-centre of Barcelona as a magnet for CIs.