Cultural participation and the micro-dynamics of trust: Evidence from a large-scale field study

This paper investigates how collective cultural participation shapes the micro-dynamics of trust formation and its short-term social and economic effects. Using unique microdata from a long-term field study of collective cultural participation, comprising more than 13,000 face-to-face interviews, we examine whether engagement in shared artistic experiences enhances instantaneous social capital, defined as a temporary yet socially meaningful increase in interpersonal trust. Results show that emotional and bodily participation in collective performances significantly increases the likelihood of reporting higher trust toward others. This situational trust, in turn, predicts a greater willingness to volunteer and higher local spending. The findings highlight that cultural events can act as catalysts of both social cohesion and local economic vitality, even within short-lived, non-institutional settings.