Work

Creativity meets social capital: Theory and field evidence

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: We model creativity as capital built by costly cognitive effort that complements social capital and is often accompanied by routines that economize attention and time. Higher effort costs deter entry into the creative state, while openness and trust increase the productivity of cognitive effort mainly through creative capital. Using lab-in-the-field data from an Italian music festival and a recursive bivariate probit, we find that costs depress creativity, whereas creativity strongly boosts festival collaboration, volunteering, and territorial cooperation. Consistent with a routinization perspective, the creativity-engagement link is stronger when participation occurs in more socially "structured" environments. To encourage creativity, policies should reduce cognitive frictions and improve the productivity of cognitive effort.

Source: Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics

DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2026.102632

Authors: Giuseppe Ciccarone, Giovanni Di Bartolomeo, Valentina Peruzzi, Maria Luigia Signore

Institution: Sapienza University of Rome

Language: English

Topic: Cultural Industries and Urban Development

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,830