A survey on experimental elicitation of creativity in economics

The interplay between individual creative ability and the way to enhance it is an issue with tremendous potential for economic analysis. In this survey, we dwell into the issue by focusing on the methodological advantages of economic experiments. We provide a review of the literature in experimental economics on creativity, identifying seven main objects of study. Namely, the impact on creativity of: (1) low vs. high monetary incentives, (2) the interplay of monetary incentives and tasks, (3) within-group competition, (4) within-group cooperation, (5) cultural factors, (6) non-monetary social incentives, and (7) strategic behavior. We also classify the studies in our review according to key features of standard experimental procedures in economics, as the type of creative task, the way it is assessed, and the specific subject pool. This multidimensional comparison allows us to conclude that the current lack of robust findings on the determinants of creativity in economics might be due to the absence of comparable experimental studies under the same experimental conditions. Our review also highlights the crucial role of previous research on creativity in the psychological literature in shaping procedures of elicitation of creativity in experimental economics.