Cultural rituals and regional economies: an input–output analysis of religious pilgrimage activities in Taiwan

Abstract

This study employs an input–output framework to evaluate the economic impact of the major religious procession events in Taoyuan, Taiwan. By integrating detailed expenditure data with regionally adjusted Leontief models, we quantify the direct, indirect, and total output effects across local industries. Our results indicate that, within the input–output framework, these cultural rituals generate measurable short-run production effects, with total output multipliers ranging from 2.08 to 3.02. Sectors such as apparel, food services, and cultural performance exhibit relatively strong propagation effects. The findings suggest that spending composition—rather than total budget alone—is closely associated with multiplier strength. The study provides policy-relevant evidence for considering how cultural-event expenditures may be allocated across locally embedded sectors, while recognizing the limitations of a static input–output framework.