This article from PM magazine of the International City/County Management Association (IMCA) gives a local government viewpoint on the importance of arts and creativity to a local economy. Here are a couple of quotes:

Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity annually, which is a 24 percent increase in just the past five years. That amount is greater than the gross domestic product of most countries. This spending supports 5.7 million full-time jobs in American cities and counties-an increase of 850,000 jobs since Americans for the Arts studied this in 2002. What’s more, because arts and culture organizations are strongly rooted in their communities, these are jobs that remain local and cannot be sent overseas.

Our industry also generates nearly $30 billion in revenue for local, state, and federal governments every year. By comparison, the three levels of government collectively spend less than $4 billion annually to support arts and culture. This is a spectacular 7-to-1 return on investment that would thrill even Wall Street veterans.

and

New research by business scholars demonstrates a greater understanding that creativity is at the leading edge of innovation. In the 2006 report, Are They Really Ready to Work?-prepared by the Conference Board for its Fortune 1000 business constituency-U.S. employers point to “creativity and innovation” as one of the top skills needed by new hires to succeed in the workplace.

The applied skills that support innovation, such as critical thinking, communications, and problem solving – all skills commonly acquired in a quality arts education – were rated even more important than the traditional skills of basic reading, writing, and math. These business leaders further stated that the importance of creativity and innovation will only increase in the future.