Social capital, a broad term encompassing the norms and networks facilitating collective action for mutual benefit. Part of this ambiguity concerns whether social capital is defined in terms of its effects or. The role of group affiliations in determining socioeconomic outcomes, in understanding poverty in america, s. Benefits and importance of social capital social capital. The empirical social capital literature seems to be particularly plagued by vague definition of concepts, poorly measured data, absence of appropriate exchangeability conditions, and lack of information necessary to make identification claims plausible durlauf, 2002, p. Durlauf this paper critically examines the way in which empirical evidence is developed in support of a role for social capital in socioeconomic outcomes. An update the past decade hasseen an explosion of empirical research on economic growth and its determinants, yet many of the central issues of inter. Following durlauf 2002, it points out the econometric issues useful to improve future aggregate empirical studies of social capital. The importance of social capital theory is apparent from the literature with many empirical studies that purport to show the importance of social capital to a very wideranging set of socioeconomic phenomena durlauf 2002a.
The schelling model of a tipping point in racial segregation, in which whites flee a neighborhood in large numbers once a. We demonstrate, using a large european survey of older people, that social capital is multi. The dimensions of social capital defined by narayan and cassidy 2001 figure 6. Over the past decade social capital has matured from a concept into a field of research. Despite the lack of consensus on the appropriate concept of social capital, research in the area has continued even in the most criticized macroeconomic area. Pdf on the empirics of social capital steven durlauf. Durlauf department of economics, university of wisconsin this draft. Durlauf, on the empirics of social capital, the economic journal, volume 112, issue 483, november 2002. Moving from the stock of social capital to the flow of benefits.
We argue that the basic social capital thesis has now been widely accepted across a range of disciplines and fields, and that research is. Request pdf chapter 26 social capital this chapter surveys research on social capital. Conceptual ambiguity one problem with the analysis of social capital is that it is illdefined, with different authors attributing different meanings to the concept. A contribution to the empirics of economic growth n. An exploratory study of associations between social capital and selfassessed health in norway. Where social networks can be observed and measured, the characteristics of the ties that link people together such. Over the last decade, the concept of social capital has risen dramatically to become one of the most fertile concepts in social science literature bourdieu 1983, portes 1985,1998, colleman 1988, putman 1993, uphoff and mijayaratna 2000, woolcock and narayan 2000, durlauf 2002, gillinson 2004. A multidimensional perspective on social capital and. An economic model of social capital and health volume 3 issue 4 sherman folland. We are able to distinguish 29 different phases of the production cycle, from design, to early processing.
This thesis carries out an inquiry into the empirics of social capital and economic development, with the aims to provide an operational definition of the concept, to build a new framework for measurement, and to shed light on the nature and form of causal relationships connecting social capital to its supposed outcomes. January 20, 2002 i thank william brock, adam gamoran, michael sobel, and chih ming tan for useful. January 20, 2002 i thank william brock, adam gamoran, michael sobel, and chih ming tan for useful conversations on the issues in this paper. Nov 01, 2002 on the empirics of social capital on the empirics of social capital durlauf, steven n.
The investigation about the importance of social capital to generate differences in regional per capita income per capita income growth rates had new contributions in the last decade. Wilson eds, researching social capital, lifelong learning regions and the management of place. On the empirics of social capital on the empirics of social capital durlauf, steven n. On the empirics of social capital durlauf 2002 the. Temple and johnson, 1998, presently crystallizing around the concept of social capital see, e. Social capital is notoriously complicated to measure objectively durlauf 2002. Social capital and local development from theory to. This book addresses the role of social capital in promoting rural and local development. Identified weaknesses are then used to analyze, in a critical perspective, some prominent empirical studies and new interesting. Spatial empirics for economic growth and convergence. Spanning a multitude of disciplines and different contexts, the construct remains ill defined and its measurement imprecise, yet researchers in both the developed and transitional economies are increasingly finding it necessary to draw upon social capital as a means of explaining behavior within embedded social. We employ a generalized social capital index based on measures of trust, associational activities, and civic norms to test hypotheses suggesting a positive relationship between social capital and economic development, while also considering the impact of social capital on entrepreneurship and on human capital as intermediary effects on. We explore the concepts that motivate the social capital literature, efforts to formally model social capital using economic theory, the econometrics of social.
If spillovers take place within neighborhoods, then strategic interactions affect neighborhood formation, human capital of different ethnic groups, and overall inequality borjas 1993, 1996, benabou 1993, 1996, durlauf 2002, 1999, 1996. Economic fluctuations and growth program this paper surveys research on social capital. University of wisconsinmadison institute for research on. Oct 08, 2014 over the past decade social capital has matured from a concept into a field of research. The applied literature continues to be dominated by an empirical version of the aggregate solowswan model temple 2005, with much of the debate focusing on. In africa, social capital sc is an important resource for the informal economy.
This paper explores the reemerging concept of social capital in business networks. Based on extensive information on individuals embeddedness in various dimensions of social capital gathered in the social capital community benchmark survey, two measures of social capital are extracted from the data via factor analysis. The survey points out six main weaknesses affecting the empirics of social capital. Committee on increasing resilience to hazards and disasters, committee on science, engineering, and public policy. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise cambridge core to connect with your account. Spanning a multitude of disciplines and different contexts, the construct remains ill defined and its measurement imprecise, yet researchers in both the developed and transitional economies are increasingly finding it necessary to draw upon social capital as a means of explaining behavior. Where social networks can be observed and measured, the characteristics of. The case of the racial tipping point1 william easterly new york university february 2004 abstract. It substitutes the limited formal business support systems as factor inputs for enterprise development. Careful attention to these conditions combined with greater openmindedness as to what constitutes appropriate evidence seems the best route. The criticisms are exacerbated by a mismatch between theoretical coverage of the concept and empirical work. On the empirics of social capital, economic journal, royal economic society, vol.
A synthesis of findings and recommendations from the social capital initiative social capital initiative working paper no. This article examines the impact of social capital on philanthropy. It shows that an augmented solow model that includes accumulation of human as well as physical capital provides an excellent description of the crosscountry data. On the empirics of social capital, the economic journal. This paper offers an overview of the main literature on civil social capital and its impact on economic growth. The empirics of social capital and economic development. Durlauf 2002, portes 1998, using concepts such as trust and cooperation to define social capital is. Citations with social capital, human capital and social networks in econ lit15 figure 4. Social development strategy the empirics of social capital. Although the way economists use the concept can be criticized fine, 2001, social capital is probably one of the most successfully introduced dnewt. However, according to durlauf 2002 the empirical social capital literature seems to be particularly plagued by vague definition of concepts, poorly measured.
Durlauf and fafchamps 2004 accuse social capital research of conceptual vagueness. Yet, what social capital is and how it is formed are elusi. The applied literature continues to be dominated by an empirical version of the aggregate solowswan model temple 2005, with much of the debate focusing on the roles of factor accumulation versus. The recent financial and economic crises have exposed the european union eu to an increased risk of social exclusion and poverty, which are now at the heart of its economic, employment and social agenda with explicit reference to rural and marginal areas europe 2020. A general set of conditions under which social capital effects may be identified in linear models is given. Contemporary authors on social capital 21 figure 5. Careful attention to these conditions combined with greater openmindedness as to what constitutes appropriate evidence seems the best route to improving empirical studies of social capital. This paper argues that the term social capital is an inappropriate terminology that is unsuited for theory or scientific empirical research. The paper also examines the implications of the solow model for convergence in standards of living, that is, for. The arguments challenge the metaphor and definition by revealing the phrase to be dehumanizing, oxymoronic, anachronistic, and demeaning, which makes it incorrect, and even immoral, for proper use.
One reason for this is a continuing ambiguity in what is meant by the term. The applied literature continues to be dominated by an empirical version of the aggregate solowswan model temple. We are able to distinguish 29 different phases of the production cycle, from design, to. We argue that the basic social capital thesis has now been widely accepted across a range of disciplines and fields, and that research is therefore naturally shifting toward. One of the challenges in understanding the relations between social capital and poverty is that they are jointly determined durlauf, 2002. This enthusiasm has not been restricted to sociologists. On the empirics of social capital, economic journal, 112, 459479, 2002. We identify some of the main theoretical developments over this period and point to some areas where further work appears warranted.