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Creativity Meets Social Capital: Theory and Field Evidence

Author

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  • Giuseppe Ciccarone
  • Giovanni Di Bartolomeo
  • Valentina Peruzzi
  • Maria Luigia Signore

Abstract

We model creativity as capital built by costly creative effort that complements social capital and is often accompanied by routines that economize attention and time. Higher effort costs are associated with lower entry into the creative state, while openness and trust are associated with higher productivity of creative effort mainly through creative capital. Using field survey data from an Italian music festival and a recursive bivariate probit, we find that costs are negatively associated with creativity, whereas creativity is strongly associated with 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 creative effort.

Suggested Citation

  • Giuseppe Ciccarone & Giovanni Di Bartolomeo & Valentina Peruzzi & Maria Luigia Signore, 2026. "Creativity Meets Social Capital: Theory and Field Evidence," CIMEO Working Paper Series 206, Centre for Investigation and Modelling of Experimental Observations (CIMEO).
    • Handle: RePEc:ter:wpaper:00206
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • C35 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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