Nobuko Kawashima is a Professor at the Faculty of Economics of Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. Her research focuses on the areas of cultural policy, cultural economics and the creative industries. She has extensive experience in policy-making and evaluation at the local and national levels, including chairing the Japanese government's Council for Cultural Policy Making. Her recent co-edited volumes include Asian Cultural Flows (with Hye-Kyung Lee, Springer, 2018) and Film Policy in a Globlalised Cultural Economy (with John Hill, Routledge, 2017). She is currently writing a book on Japan's creative and cultural industries analysing their industrial and economic features (Routledge, forthcoming).

Guido Ferilli is Associate Professor and Director of the Cultural Industries and Complexity Observatory at IULM University, Milan. His research focuses upon economics, data science, and European programmes. He researches and consults internationally in the fields ofcultural economics policy design and regional development. He has a wide international experience in coordinating research and policy design projects.