The intricate relationship of the media business and economic development

Growth theories are among the cornerstones of economic theory, dating back to the field's origins. There have been many explanations for growth (or lack of thereof), yet the role of the media in economic development has only begun to receive increasing attention over the last twenty years. Our contribution hopes to shed light on the intricate relationship between the media business (and its specific sub-segments) and general economic development (and possible intervening variables). Based on media data provided by an international consultancy, economic indicators from the World Bank, and several sources mapping national "media systems" we will outline the diversity of the world's 30 leading countries (in media terms) and expose the correlations between them. Additionally, annual data from the 2001-2010 period will allow for analyses of time series and possible causal relationships. Analyses show a strong correlation between media industries' yearly revenue and GDP. Correlations shifted by time intervals also point beyond annual effects. Media's long-term growth and their share of overall economic value creation, along with compound economic growth rates and the general state of development, are all strongly linked to each other as well as to media systems' variables, like freedom of the press. Nevertheless, despite the overall dependency of media industries' growth on the growth of GDP, less developed countries show stronger rates of media growth than might be expected based on GDP growth. Furthermore, outperformance in media markets' growth appears to stimulate general economic development, which suggests a process of co-evolution.