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Syllabus

Social Capital, Social Cohesion
and Economic Development in the European Union

Prof. Fabio Sabatini

Course description

During the last decade, we have witnessed an explosion in the number of studies addressing the social roots of development, often grouped together under the common label of “social capital”.
This course will look at the role of social capital in economic development from a multidisciplinary perspective. We will investigate diverse fields of the theoretical literature, from sociology to political science, from psychology to economics, as far as the empirical studies addressing the relationship between social capital’s different dimensions, economic growth, social well-being and the quality of development. Our bibliographical references will be mainly constituted by:

1. the slides projected during classes.
2. Original papers discussed in class. The underlined readings on the electronic version of this syllabus can be accessed on the web simply by clicking on it.  Access to some readings may be restricted due to copyright laws, and will require to be logged on to a computer that is part of the University of Siena network. Most of suggested readings are available on the Social Capital Gateway, web site providing resources for the study of social capital, at the address www.socialcapitalgateway.org, and will be distributed to students by email. Papers in suggested readings are intended just as references for possible further analyses: students are not required to read them all. Anyway, you may skip over the description of formal - theoretical and/or empirical - models included in papers. It is strongly recommended to subscribe to the free weekly newsletter Nep-Soc on Social Norms & Social Capital, to keep yourself posted on the new frontiers of the literature on the topic.

Lectures will provide concrete examples and guidelines on how to carry out a rigorous and analytically well-grounded research work. The course thus represents a good starting point for final year students preparing their dissertation.

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Instructor Information

Prof. Fabio Sabatini

University of Siena, Faculty of Political Science and Department of Economics
University of Rome La Sapienza, SPES Centre for Development Studies

Le lezioni iniziano il 28 november 2007 / Classes begin November 28, 2007

Le lezioni si terranno / Lectures will be held on:

• Wednesday 10.00-12.00
• Thursday 12.00-14.00

Orario di ricevimento / Office hours

Wednesday 12.00-14.00 - Faculty of Political Science, 3rd floor, room 57A

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Schedule and suggested readings

WEEK 1 - WHAT IS SOCIAL CAPITAL

The social capital debate

1. What is social capital. Brief introductory definition.
2. The place of social capital in the scientific and political debate.
3. Social capital in the International Financial Institutions’ development policies.
4. Social capital and social cohesion in the European Union (EU).

Suggested readings
- Sabatini, F. (2004), “Il concetto di capitale sociale nelle scienze sociali. Una rassegna della letteratura economica, sociologica e politologica”, Studi e Note di Economia, No. 2/2004, 73-105. Downloadable.

What is social capital. The approach of sociology

1. Brief notes on the intellectual history of the concept of social capital.
2. The approach of sociology.
3. Bourdieu’s notion of social capital.
4. The strength of weak ties. Social interactions and economic development in the new economic sociology.
5. Social capital in the rational choice sociology. The approach of James Coleman.

Suggested readings
- Banfield, E.C. with L. Fasano (1958), The Moral Basis of a Backward Society, Glencoe IL, The Free Press. Downloadable
-Bourdieu, Pierre (1986). “The Forms of Capital”. In John Richardson, Ed. Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood Press, pp. 241-258. Downloadable.
- Coleman, J. (1988) “Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital”, American Journal of Sociology 94: 95-120.
- Coleman, J. (1990), Foundations of Social Theory, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Chapter 9.
- Granovetter, M. (1973) “The Strength Of Weak Ties”, American Journal of Sociology”, 78: 1360-80.
- Granovetter, M. (1985) “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem Of Embeddedness”, American Journal of Sociology, 91: 481-510.
- Sabatini, F. (2004), “Il concetto di capitale sociale nelle scienze sociali. Una rassegna della letteratura economica, sociologica e politologica”, Studi e Note di Economia, No. 2/2004, 73-105. Downloadable.

WEEKS 2/3 - SOCIAL CAPITAL: A SOLUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT PROBLEM?

Social capital and economics

1. Social capital as an individual resource: Gary Becker’s theory of social interactions.
2. A simple model of the (possible) determinants of social capital according to an “economic approach”.
3. On “economics imperialism”: is economics colonising the other social sciences?

Suggested readings
- Becker, G. (1974), A Theory of Social Interactions, Journal of Political Economy, 82, n. 6, pp. 1063-1093.
- Becker, G. (1996), Accounting for Tastes, Cambridge, Ma, Harvard University Press. Trad. it: De gustibus. Dal tabagismo al matrimonio: la spiegazione economica delle preferenze, Egea, Milano, 2000.
- Fine, B. (2001), Social Capital versus Social Theory. Political Economy and Social Science at the Turn of the Millenium. London and New York: Routledge.
- Glaeser, E. L., D. Laibson and B. Sacerdote (2002), “An Economic Approach To Social Capital”, Economic Journal, v112 (483), 437-458. Downloadable.
- Sabatini, F. (2003), Review Essay of Ben Fine, “Social Capital versus Social Theory: Political Economy and Social Science at the Turn of the Millenium”, Economic Notes, vol. 32 issue 3, 403-408.
- Sabatini, F. (2004), “Uganda, l’allievo modello della Banca Mondiale. Le nuove contraddizioni della cooperazione allo sviluppo”, Dis-Uguaglianze, Trimestrale per l’analisi dei processi di sviluppo e sottosviluppo, Vol. 5/05, 122-134. Downloadable.
- Sacco, P.L. e Zamagni, S. (2002), “Introduzione”, in Sacco, P.L. e S. Zamagni, Complessità relazionale e comportamento economico. Materiali per un nuovo paradigma di razionalità, Bologna, Il Mulino.

Social capital and economic development

1. Social capital, transaction costs and the economic activity.
2. Making Democracy Work as a milestone in the literature: social capital, the institutional performance and economic growth in Italy.

Suggested readings
- Cartocci, R. (2007), Mappe del tesoro. Atlante del capitale sociale in Italia, Bologna, Il Mulino.
- Heliwell, J.F., Putnam, R.D. (1995), “Economic Growth And Social Capital In Italy”, Eastern Economic Journal, 21, 295-307. Downloadable.
- Fine, B. (2001), Social Capital versus Social Theory. Political Economy and Social Science at the Turn of the Millenium. London and New York: Routledge.
- Knack, S. and P. Keefer (1997), “Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation”, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 112, No. 4 (Nov., 1997), pp. 1251-1288. Downloadable.
- Lyon, T.P. (2005), “Making Capitalism Work: Social Capital and Economic Growth in Italy, 1970-1995”, FEEM Working Paper No. 70.05, (May 2005). Downloadable.
- Putnam, R.D., Leonardi, R. and R.Y. Nanetti (1993), Making Democracy Work, Priceton, Princeton University Press. Trad. it. La tradizione civica nelle regioni italiane, Milano, Mondadori.
Torsvik, G. (2000), “Social Capital and Economic Development: A Plea for the Mechanism”,. Rationality and Society, 12, 451-476.
- Trigilia, C. (2001), “Social Capital and Local Development”, European Journal of Social Theory, Vol. 4, No. 4, 427-442. Downloadable.

The empirical literature on social capital and development

1. Social capital and economic growth
2. Social capital and financial development
3. Social capital and poverty
4. Social capital and microcredit

Suggested readings
- Cecchi, C., Molinas, L. and F. Sabatini (2007), Is Social Capital a Policy Tool Against Poverty and Inequality? A Discussion of Development Strategies in Rural India, University of Rome La Sapienza, SPES Centre for Development Studies, mimeo. Downloadable.
- Degli Antoni G. (2006), “Capitale sociale e crescita economica: una verifica empirica a livello regionale e provinciale”, Rivista Italiana degli Economisti, n.3, pp.363-393.
- Dowla, A. (2005), “In Credit We Trust: Building Social Capital by Grameen Bank in Bangladesh”, Journal of Socio-Economics, Volume 35, Issue 1, February 2006, Pages 102-122. Downloadable.
- 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. Downloadable.
- Yunus, M. (1998), Banker to the Poor, Dhaka, University Press Limited, trad. it. Il banchiere dei poveri, Feltrinelli, Milano.

WEEK 4 – SOCIAL CAPITAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY

1. A critical review of the empirical literature on social capital and economic development.
2. A new map of social capital’s endowments ten years after Making Democracy Work.
3. Methodological issues. Notes on factor analyses techniques and on data sources.
4. The social capital of the family. Social capital as informal networks of weak ties. Civil society and voluntary organizations. The role of active political participation. Social capital as civic awareness.
5. The quality of economic development in Italy.
6. The relationship between social capital and the quality of economic development in Italy.
7. Education, social capital and the entrepreneurial selection in Italy. Social capital and labour productivity in Italy.

Suggested readings
- Ferrante, F. and F. Sabatini (2006), Education, Social Capital and Entrepreneurial Selection in Italy, Paper prepared for presentation at the 2006 International Comparative Analysis of Enterprise (micro) Data (CAED) Conference, hosted at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago, IL, September 18 & 19, 2006. Downloadable.
- Sabatini, F. (2006), Social Capital, Public Spending and the Quality of Economic Development: the Case of Italy, FEEM Working Paper 14.06, Eni Enrico Mattei Foundation, Milan, January 2006. Downloadable.
- Sabatini, F. (2006), Social capital, labour precariousness and the economic performance. An empirical assessment of the strength of weak ties in Italy, Third Sector and Civil Economy Working Paper Series, No. 26, January 2006, University of Bologna, Faculty of Economics. Downloadable.
- Sabatini, Fabio (2007), “The Empirics of Social Capital and Economic Development: a Critical Perspective”, in Osborne, M., Sankey, K. e Wilson, B. (eds), Researching Social Capital, Lifelong Learning Regions and the Management of Place: an international perspective, London and New York, Routledge, pp76-94. Downloadable.
- Sabatini, F. (2007), “Un atlante del capitale sociale italiano”, QA, Rivista dell'Associazione Rossi Doria , No. 1/2007, pp. 41-73.
- Sabatini, F. (2007), “Social Capital and the Quality of Economic Development”, Paper presented at the Conferences “Social Capital, Sustainability and Socio-economic Cohesion” hosted by the London School of Economics, London, 29-30 June 2006, and “Social Networks, Transactional Economy, and Knowledge-Based Economy in Regional Development” hosted by the State University of Moscow and the MGIMO University of Moscow, Moscow, 3-4 March 2007.
- Sabatini, Fabio (2007), “Capitale sociale, imprese sociali, spesa pubblica e sviluppo in Italia”, Impresa sociale, numero speciale su “Fiducia, beni relazionali e capitale sociale”, n.2, vol. 76, 192-234.
- Sabatini, F., “Does Social Capital Improve Labour Productivity in Small and Medium Enterprises?”, forthcoming International Journal of Management and Decision Making, Special Issue on “Social Capital and Organisations”. Downloadable.

WEEK 5 – SOCIAL CAPITAL AND SOCIAL COHESION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

1. The enlargement of the EU
2. The challenge of socio-economic cohesion in the enlarged EU
3. Social capital and transition in Eastern Europe
4. An European economic policy for social cohesion

Suggested readings
- Carlucci, F. and F. Cavone (2004), La grande Europa. Allargamento, integrazione, sviluppo, Milano, FrancoAngeli.
Eurofound (2007), Regional Social Capital in Europe, Dublin, Eurofound. Downloadable.
- Fidrmurc, J. and K. Gërxhani (2005), “Formation of social capital in Central and Eastern Europe: Understanding the gap vis-à-vis developed countries”, William Davidson Institute (WDI) Working Paper No. 766. Downloadable.
- Mihaylova, D. (2004), Social Capital in Central and Eastern Europe. A Critical Assessment and a Literature Review, Center for Policy Studies, Central European University.

WEEK 6 – THE DETERMINANTS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL

1. Civil society and public action in the creation of social capital.
2. The role of the welfare state.

Suggested readings
- Brehm, J., Rahn, W. (1997), “Individual-Level evidence for the causes and consequences of Social Capital”, American Journal of Political Science, 41, 3, 999-1023.
- Cecchi, C. and F. Sabatini (2007), Il capitale sociale per la pianificazione e gestione dei servizi pubblici, Roma, Officina Edizioni.
- Hooghe, M. and D. Stolle (eds) (2003), Generating Social Capital: Civil Society and Institutions in Comparative Perspective, New York, Palgrave.
- Rothstein, B. (2001), “Social Capital in the Social Democratic Welfare State”, Politics and Society, Vol. 29, 206-240.
- Rothstein, B. (2003), “Social Capital in a Working Democracy: The Causal Mechanism”, in Osterud, O. (ed), Power and Democracy: Critical Interventions, London, Ashgate.
- Rothstein, B. e Kumlin, S. (2005), “Making and Breaking Social Capital: The Impact of Welfare State Institutions”, Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 38, No. 4, 339-365.
- Uslaner, E. (2002), The Moral Foundations of Trust, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Downloadable.
- Van Oorschot, W. (2005), “The social capital of European welfare states: the crowding out hypothesis revisited”, Journal of European Social Policy, Vol. 15, No. 1, 5-26.

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