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Empirical Studies on Social Capital and Economic Growth

This section collects empirical investigations and case studies on the relationship between social capital, income, welfare, and economic growth, both in advanced economies and in low income countries.

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Essential Readings

• Barro, R.J. (1996), Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study, NBER Working Paper, 5698, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Ma.

• Durlauf, S.N., Fafchamps, M. (2004), Social Capital, The Centre for The Study of African Economies Working Paper Series, No. 214, The Berkeley Economic Press.

• Guiso, L., Sapienza, P., Zingales, L. (2000), The Role Of Social Capital In Financial Development, The American Economic Review. Vol. 94, No. 3: 526-556.

• Isham, J., Kelly, T., Ramaswamy, S., Dirks, F.C. (eds) (2002), Social Capital and Economic Development: Well-Being in Developing Countries, Celtenham and Northampton, Edward Elgar Pub.

• Johnson, P.A., Temple, J. Social capability and economic growth, Quarterly Journal of Economics, August 1998, 113(3), 965-990.

• Knack, S. (1999), Social Capital, Growth And Poverty: A Survey Of Cross Country Evidence, The World Bank Social Capital Initiative Working Papers, 7.

• Knack, S., Keefer, P. (1997), Does Social Capital Have An Economic Payoff? A Cross Country Investigation, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112/4, 1251-1288.

• Sabatini, Fabio (2005), The Role of Social Capital in Economic Development. Investigating the Causal Nexus through Structural Equations Models, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Public Economics, mimeo.

• Tabellini, G. (2005), Culture and Institutions: economic development in the regions of Europe, Working Paper N. 292, Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research.

• Temple, J. (2001), Growth Effects of Education and Social Capital in the OECD Countries, OECD Economic Studies, No. 33, 2001/2, 57-101.

• Zak, P.J. e Knack, S. (2001), Trust and Growth, The Economic Journal 111: 295-331.

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Further Readings

• Annen, K. (2005), Economic Returns to Social Capital in the Urban Informal Sector in Developing Countries: Micro Evidence from Small Textile Producers in Bolivia, University of Guelph, Department of Economics, mimeo.

• Aron, J. (2000), Growth and Institutions: a Review of the Evidence, The World Bank Research Observer, 15/2000.

• Ascari, G., Di Cosmo, V. (2005), Determinants of Total Factor Productivity in the Italian Regions, Working Paper # 170 (12-04), University of Pavia, Department of Economcis.

• Baliamoune-Lutz, M. (2005), Institutions, Social Capital, and Economic Development in Africa: An Empirical Study, Working Paper No. 18 / 2005, International Centre for Economic Research.

• Barro, R.J. (1991), Economic Growth In A Cross-Section of Countries, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106, 407-443.

• Barro, R.J. (1994), Democracy and Growth, NBER Working Paper, 4909, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Ma.

• Beugelsdijk, S., van Schaick, T. (2003), Social Capital and Regional Economic Growth, Paper presented at the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) 2003 Congress, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland, 27-30 August 2003.

• Beugelsdijk, S., van Schaick, T. (2005), Social capital and growth in European regions: an empirical test, European Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 21, Issue 2, 301-324.

• Butler, J., Giuliano, P., Guiso, L., 2010. The Right Amount of Trust. FEEM Working Paper No. 61.2010.

• Casey, T., Christ, K. (2002), Social Capital and Economic Performance in the American States, presented at the 2002 American Political Science
Association Conference, Boston, MA.

• Christoforou, A. (2003), Social Capital and Economic Growth: The Case of Greece, Paper presented at the 1st LSE PhD Symposium on Modern Greece: Current Social Science Research on Greece, London School of Economics, June 21, 2003.

• Collier, P., Gunning, J.W. (1997), Explaining African Economic Performance, Journal of Economic Literature, 64-111.

• Easterly, W., Levine, R. (1995), Africa's Growth Tragedy: A Retrospective, 1960-89, Policy Research Working Paper 1503, Policy Research Department, Washington, DC, World Bank.

• Farr, W.K., Lord, R.A., Wolfenbarger, J.L. (1998), Economic Freedom, Political Freedom and Economic Well-Being: a Causality Analysis, Cato Journal, 18, 2, 247-262.

• Fedderke, J., Klitgaard, R. (1998), Economic Growth and Social Indicators: An Exploratory Analysis, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 46(3), 455-489.

• Gittel, R., Vidal, A. (1998), Community Organizing: Building Social Capital As A Development Strategy, Newbury Park, California, Sage Publications.

• Grier, K.B., Tullock, G. (1989), An Empirical Analysis Of Cross-National Economic Growth 1951-80, Journal of Monetary Economics, 24, 259-276.

• Grootaert (2002) Social Capital, household welfare and poverty in Indonesia, Policy Research Working Paper no. 2148, Washington D.C., The World Bank.

• Grootaert, C., van Bastelaer, T. (2002), The Role of Social Capital in Development: An Empirical Assessment, Cambridge University Press.

• Guiso, L., Sapienza, P., Zingales, L. (2005), Cultural Biases in Economic Exchange, Northwestern University, Department of Economics, mimeo.

• Heliwell, J.F. (1994), Empirical Linkages Between Democracy And Economic Growth, NBER Working Paper, 4066, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Ma.

• Heliwell, J.F. (1996), Economic Growth And Social Capital In Asia, NBER Working Paper No. 5470, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Ma.

• Heliwell, J.F., Putnam, R. (1995), Economic Growth And Social Capital In Italy, Eastern Economic Journal, 21, 295-307.

• Knack, S. (1996), Institutions And The Convergence Hypothesis: The Cross-National Evidence, Public Choice, 87, 207-228.

• Kormendi, R.C. e Meguire, P.G. (1985), Macroeconomic Determinants Of Growth: Cross-Country Evidence, Journal of Monetary Economics, 16, 141-163.

• Mbaku, J.M., Kimenyi, M.S. (1997), Macroeconomic Determinants of Growth: Further Evidence on the Role of Political Freedom, Journal of Economic Development, Vol. 22, No. 2, December 1997.

• Miguel, E., Gertler, P., Levine, D.I. (2004), Does Social Capital Promote Industrialization? Evidence from a Rapid Industrializer, University of California, Berkeley, mimeo.

• Narayan, D., Nyamwaya, D. (1996), Learning From The Poor: A Participatory Poverty Assessment In Kenya, Enviroment Department Papers, Participation Series, 34, World Bank Social Policy and Resettlement Division, Washington D.C.

• Narayan, D., Pritchett, L. (1998), Cents and Sociability: Household Income and Social Capital in Rural Tanzania, Economic Development and Cultural Change.

• Rapushinga, A, Goetz, S.J., Freshwater, D. (2002), Social Capital and Economic Growth: a country-level analysis, Journal of Agricultural & Applied Economics, 2000, vol. 32, issue 3, pages 565-572.

• Rapashinga, A., Goetz, S.J., Freshwater, D. (2002), Social and institutional factors as determinants of economic growth: Evidence from the United States counties, Papers in Regional Science, Vol. 81, No. 2, 139-155.

• Rodrik, D. (1997), Where Did All the Growth Go? External Shocks, Social Conflict and Growth Collapses, NBER Working Paper No. 6350.

• Sabatini, Fabio (2005), The Role of Social Capital in Economic Development. Investigating the Causal Nexus through Structural Equations Models, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Public Economics, mimeo.

• Sabatini, Fabio (2005), Social capital, labour precariousness and the economic performance. An empirical assessment of the strength of weak ties in Italy, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Public Economics, mimeo.

• Sabatini, Fabio (2005), Does Social Capital Improve Labour Productivity in Small and Medium Enterprises?, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Public Economics, mimeo.

• Sabatini, Fabio (2005), The Empirics of Social Capital and Economic Development: A Critical Perspective, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Public Economics, mimeo.

• Sabatini, Fabio (2005), Social Capital, Public Spending and the
Quality of Economic Development: the Case of Italy, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Public Economics, mimeo.
Paper accepted for presentation at the COE/JEPA (Center of Excellence / Japan Economic Policy Association) Joint International Conference, "Towards a New Economic Paradigm", Kobe, Japan, 17-18 December 2005.

• Scully, G.W. (1988), The Institutional Framework and Economic Development, Journal of Political Economy, 96/3, 652-662.

• Slemrod, J., Katuscak, P. (2002), Do Trust and Trustworthiness Pay Off?, University of Michigan, Department of Economics, Working Paper 2002-8.

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