Economic Growth and Social Capital

In: Political studies, Band 48, Heft 3, S. 443-466

Abstract

Recent interdisciplinary theoretical work has suggested that social capital, or the interpersonal trust of citizens, plays an important role in explaining both the efficiency of political institutions, & in the economic performance of contemporary societies. This paper examines the relationship between social capital & economic growth in a sample of thirty-four countries over the period 1970 to 1992, within the framework of a modified neoclassical model of economic growth. The findings suggest that social capital has an impact on growth that is at least as strong as that of human capital or education, which has been the focus of much of the recent work on endogenous growth theory. It appears to have about the same impact on growth as catch-up or the ability of poorer nations to adopt technological innovations pioneered by their richer counterparts. 4 Tables, 2 Appendixes, 67 References. Adapted from the source document.