Study on the Growth and Employment Effects of Generative AI in the Cultural Content Industry

Abstract

This study aims to quantitatively assess the macroeconomic impacts of advances in generative artificial intelligence(Generative AI) on the Korean economy, with a particular focus on the growth and employment structure of the cultural content industry. To this end, it develops a multi-sector dynamic general equilibrium model with manufacturing and content sectors, and represents Generative AI innovations as a structural shock that raises the efficiency of knowledge capital production. The model is calibrated using input–output tables and national accounts data from the Bank of Korea, and a scenario in which the level of Generative AI technology increases by 28% is simulated. The results indicate that real GDP rises by about 1.71%, while knowledge capital, a core production factor, surges by approximately 39.98%. On the employment side, labor moves from manufacturing to the content industry, leading to a 3.27% increase in the employment share of the content sector and thus to an upgrading of the industrial structure. At the same time, productivity gains from technological progress reduce the relative price of content services by more than 10%, resulting in a modest decline in their value-added share, which can be interpreted as an increase in consumer welfare. These findings suggest that, in order to respond effectively to the era of Generative AI, it is crucial to invest preemptively in R&D infrastructure, to implement human capital policies that facilitate labor reallocation across sectors, and to pursue economies of scale that support the sustainable growth of the content industry.