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Home Page > Social Capital Reading List

Social Capital Reading List

This section reports some readings on social capital and its relationship with economic development, selected by Fabio Sabatini.
References are partitioned into eleven categories, approaching different aspects of social capital research. Each category includes two groups of references:
few essential readings
further readings
Downloadable papers are linked. Please report to the webmaster new interesting papers and broken links

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Reading list map
 
  Basic concepts
• What is social capital
• Against social capital
• Measuring social capital

Social capital and
the economy

• Social capital at the
firm level

• The social capital
of industrial districts
• Social capital and entrepreneurship
• Game theory and
social capital
• Social capital and
the labour market

• Social capital and
human capital

• Social capital,
knowledge and innovation


Social capital and development
in advanced economies

• Social capital and
economic growth

• Social capital and
local development

• Social capital and
rural development
• Social capital and poverty
• Empirical studies on SC and economic growth in HDCs and LDCs

Social capital and institutions
• Social capital and political participation
• Social capital and political institutions' performance
Generating social capital
• Civil society and SC
• Social capital and the state
• The challenges of multiculturalism

Social capital
and well-being

• Social capital, social interactions and happiness
• Social capital and health
• Social capital and education
• SC, public services
and the welfare state

• Social capital, crime
and urban welfare
• Social capital and
the environment
• Empirical studies on social capital and well-being

Social capital and development
in low income countries

• Social capital and
poor's life conditions

• Social capital and
rural development

• Microcredit and SC
• Development assistance
and social capital

• SC and common
pool resources
• Other studies on social capital and poverty

Social capital and transition
• Social capital and institutional transition
• Social capital and
economic transition
 

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More detailed description of single sections

• What is social capital: basic concepts
Essential readings of this section include the studies that have introduced the multidimensional concept of social capital in the social sciences debate, influencing great part of the following literature on this topic. Further readings include some alternative views and few useful surveys of the literature

• Against social capital
This section collects works of authors skeptical about the usefulness of the concept of social capital for social sciences. Great part of these studies belongs to the field of economics and addresses problems like the difficulties of measurement, the shortcomings of the empirical research, the role of social capital in the World Bank's research activity, and the opportunity itself to consider social capital as another form of capital, together with human and phisical capital.

• Measuring Social Capital
Section devoted to the measurement of social capital. It includes theoretical works on measurement methods, empirical studies measuring social capital at a local level, and few useful surveys of the literature

• Civil society, social capital and well-being
This section is devoted to the role of civil society in social capital generation mechanisms. Collected studies present different points of view on the role of voluntary associations. Following Putnam's earlier work, many authors view the main source of social capital as residing in the realm of civil society, largely disconnected from the state and political institutions. Alternative views enphasizing the role of the state and of the welfare state are presented in the next section.

• The role of the state in social capital's production
A section bringing together studies on the role of political institutions and on of the welfare state in social capital's production and accumulation mechanisms.

• The challenges of multiculturalism
his section collects studies addressing the role of ethnic fragmentation and migratory flows in social capital's generation and accumulation mechanisms. Empirical studies on the relationship between economic development and some aspects of the social structure are included when ethno-linguistic fragmentation is considered among the latters.

• Social capital, social interactions, rationality and happiness 
Starting from the assumption that well-being depends not only on private goods' consumption, but also on the satisfaction of relational needs, this section focuses on the role of social interactions and social capital in improving people's quality of life and in affecting the agents' behaviour. Suggested readings address topics like the building of new paradigms of rationality (taking into the appropriate account the agents' social needs), the relational dimension of economic action, and the theoretical analysis of the environmental and social determinants of subjective well-being.

• Social capital and health
This sub-section deals with the relationship between social capital and health. Particular attention is given to the role of social capital in improving the efficiency and accessibility of public health systems.

• Social capital and education
This section deals with the complex relationship between social capital and education. Collected works address topics like:
• The social determinants of schooling and of human capital's accumulation
• The influence of social capital on school attainment
• The role of education in the creation of social capital
• The challenges of multiculturalism to education systems

• Social capital, public services and the welfare state
This sub-section is devoted to the relationship between social capital and the welfare state in public services delivery and inequalities reduction.

• Empirical studies on the social determinants of well-being
This section collects empirical investigations on the social determinants of well-being. Suggested readings focus on topics like the role of interpersonal relations, social protection systems, well-functioning public institutions and public services.

• Social capital at the firm level
Social capital, productivity, knowledge and innovation

A section on the role of social capital in productivity, knowledge and innovation at the firm level.

• Social capital and the labour market
This section deals with the role of bridging social capital - i.e. social networks and, more in general, social ties - in the labour market's matching processes. Suggested readings mainly analyse the ability of social ties to influence labour force participation and job search processes. Particular consideration is given to problems related to the workers' mobility in terms of status and wage, and to migrants' integration in new labour markets.

• Social capital and human capital
Social capital is often considered one of the main factors for the accumulation of human capital. This section deals with the relationship between social capital and human capital, with a particular focus on the role of social capital in education

• Social capital, knowledge and innovation
This section deals with the relationship between social networks, knowledge diffusion and technological innovation. Suggested reading address both the micro and the macro level of analysis. At the micro level, they study the mechanisms of knowledge and innovation diffusion among workers and among firms. At the macro level they analyse the impact of social capital on competitiveness through the improvement of knowledge and technology diffusion.

• Social capital, growth and development
The relationship between social capital, economic performance, economic growth and development. On this topic see also sections on Social capital and human capital, Social capital and poverty and Social capital, knowledge and innovation

• Social capital and local development
This section collects studies dealing with the role of social norms, social relations, and social networks in regional economic development, both in industrialized and in developing countries, with a particular regard for post-communist transition economies. Strong emphasis is placed on the role of networks between small and medium-sized firms, which may lead to the creation of industrial districts and learning regions.

• Social capital and poverty in developing countries
A section devoted to the role of social interactions and social capital in the fight against poverty and inequalities in developing countries. Particular consideration is given to the ability of social interactions to mitigate the effects of income inequalities, to improve the capabilities and the quality of life of the poors, to foster productivity and innovation in rural areas, and to support the development of microcredit programmes. Readings are partitioned into five sub-sections: Social interactions, health and the quality of life, Social capital, poverty and development in rural areas, Microcredit and social capital, Development assistance, civil society and social capital, Other aspects of the relationship between social capital and poverty in LDCs.

• Empirical studies on social capital and growth
Empirical studies on the relationship between social capital, economic performance and human, social and economic development. It includes both cross-country investigations and studies at a local level

• Social capital, community governance and political participation
This section is devoted to the relationship between social capital and civicness. According to the political science literature, social capital fosters a more active participation to community governance and stimulates political participation

• Social capital and institutional performance
This section is devoted to the role of social capital in political and institutional development. Particular attention is given to studies dealing with the relationship between the presence of a vibrant civil society and democratic institutions' performance.

• Trust and institutions in post-communist countries
This section collects readings on social cohesion, the diffusion of social norms of trust and reciprocity, and social networks in post-communist countries in transition to a market economy. Particular attention is given to eastern countries entering in the European Union. Considered studies are strictly related to those collected the Social capital and economic transition section.

• Social capital and economic transition in post-communist countries
This section collects readings on the role of social capital in the economic transition in post-communist countries. Considered studies are closely related to those presented in the section devoted to Trust and institutions in post-communist countries.

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Geography of social capital studies

Following sections catalogue social capital studies according to the particular country on which their main focus is devoted.

  • Africa
• Asia
• Central and Northern America
• Eastern Europe
• India
  • Italy
• Latin America
• Oceania
• United States
• Western Europe
 

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  Books, PhD Theses and Lecture Notes  
  • New books on social capital and related topics
This section collects informations I acquire about new books, reports, other new publications on social capital and related topics.

• PhD theses on development and related topics
This is a new tentative section aiming to collect PhD theses in the field of social capital and related topics.

• Lecture notes on social capital and related topics
This is a new - under construction - tentative section aiming to collect lecture notes prepared for courses - both at undergraduated and graduated levels - on social capital and related topics.
 

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Upcoming conferences

Social Responsibility, Entrepreneurship and the Common Good, in Rennes, France, January 2010.

Economics of Culture, Institutions, and Crime, in Milan, Italy, January 2010.

1st Joint DIW Berlin/IZA Workshop on Entrepreneurship Research, in Bonn, February 2010.

Institutions, networks and trust in European-russian relations, in Florence, Italy, March 2010.

Well-being, Happiness and the Environment, in Stirling, UK, April 2010.

Social Capital in Practice, in Mellieha, Malta, May 2010.

Workshop in honour of Robert Sugden, Naples, Italy, May 2010.

The Charismatic Principle in Economic and Civil Life: History, Theory and Good Practice, in Florence, Italy, May 2010.

4th ISRICH Conference on Health Economics, in Paris, France, May 2010.

Annual Scientific Meeting on Social Enterprise, in Rome, Italy, May 2010.

Constructing Identity in and around Organizations, in Rhodes, Greece, June 2010.

Heritage, Regional Development and Social Cohesion, in Östersund, Sweden, June 2010.

Comparing Inequalities, in Assisi, Italy, June 2010.

Social Economics, the Social Economy, and Wellbeing in Montréal, Canada, June-July 2010.

Sustainable Regional Growth and Development in the Creative Knowledge Economy, in Jönköping, Sweden, August 2010.

Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics Annual Conference in San Diego, CA, August 2010.

Beyond the Crisis. First International Conference in Political Economy, in Rethymno, Greece, September 2010.

International Conference on Applied Business & Economics, in Coruña, Spain, September 2010.

Other Events on
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and related topics

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Social Capital Gateway
Edited by Fabio Sabatini
University of Siena