Does Wal-Mart reduce social capital?

Social capital has attracted increasing attention in recent years. We use county-level and individual survey data to study how Wal-Mart affects social capital. Estimates using several proxies for social capital—such as club membership, religious activity, time with friends, and other measures—do not support the thesis that “Wal-Mart destroys communities” by reducing social capital. We measure exposure to Wal-Mart two ways: Wal-Marts per 10,000 residents and Wal-Marts per 10,000 residents aggregated over the years since 1979 to capture a more cumulative “Wal-Mart Effect.” We find that the coefficients on Wal-Mart’s presence are statistically insignificant in most specifications.     

On interest,credit and capital ∗

On interest, credit and capital Laurence Harris This article examines the category of interest payments within the problematic of historical materialism. It examines the interest payments which occur under the capitalist mode of production on the basis of credit from capitalists to capitalists, from capitalists to workers, and from workers to capitalists. On the subject of capitalist to capitalist interest payments, the article examines the views of Marx on interest-bearing capital and demonstrates that Marx did consider this interest rate to be subject to determinate and analysable laws. These interest payments are transfers of surplus value as such. On the subject of worker to capitalist interest payments it is demonstrated that these are payments out of wage revenue which are appropriated as profit on merchants' capital rather than as profit on interest-bearing capital. Finally, capitalist to worker interest payments are identical with payments of wage revenue and, therefore, are for capitalists equivalent to the advance of variable capital. These results are established on the basis of the law of value and after considering the concept of value of labour power. In conclusion, the construction of data employed in empirical work is criticised.     

Does social capital increase public support for economic globalisation?

The dominant explanation of public attitudes vis‐à‐vis economic globalisation focuses on re‐distributional implications, with an emphasis on factor endowments and government‐sponsored safety nets (the compensation hypothesis). The empirical implication of these theoretical arguments is that in advanced economies, on which this article focuses, individuals endowed with less human and financial capital will be more likely to experience income losses. Hence they will oppose economic openness unless they are compensated by the government. It is argued here that including social capital in the analysis can fill two gaps in explanations relying on factor endowments and the compensation hypothesis. First, generalised trust – one key aspect of social capital – constitutes a personal endowment alongside human and financial capital. Second, structural social capital – another key aspect of social capital – can be regarded as a nongovernmental social safety net that can compensate for endowment‐related disadvantages of individuals. Both aspects of social capital are expected to contribute, for distinct reasons, to more positive views on economic openness. The empirical testing relies on survey data for two countries: Switzerland and the United States. For both countries, the results indicate that generalised trust has a strong, positive effect on public opinion of economic globalisation, whereas structural social capital has no effect.     

Business Angel and risk capital： The impact on innovation

The aim of the analysis is to understand if the risk capital carried by Business Angels （B.A.） could affect firms with high innovation propensity in creating more innovations than receiving risk capital from other financial operators. Innovation is a critical factor for the competitiveness of national system especially when the economy of the latter has come to maturity. For realizing ＂the successful exploitation of ideas, into new products, processes, services or business practices, and the critical process for achieving two complementary business goals of performance and growth, which in turn will help to close the productivity gap＂ （DTI＇s Innovation Report, 2003, p. 8）, firms have to understand which are the right competences to increase. In this context, the authors have developed a framework that measures the propensity to innovate in the firms. The model considers the firm＇s competences （grouped into four macro areas as management, organization, ITC and marketing） to improve the creation, development and diffusion of the innovation. The work is structured as an empirical analysis as follows： （1） The authors analyzed a sample of 12 business plans （choices for high level of innovation in their business） that received risk capital from B.A. and other financial operators; （2） For each firm, their innovation propensity is measured through the author＇s model during their start-up period （the data analyzed are business plan＇s data）; （3） After a period of time （3 years）, the authors checked if the firms with high innovation propensity have created real innovation and if a correlation exists between risk capital origin （from Business Angels or not） and innovation propensity. The conclusion of the work is the finns with B.A.＇s risk capital have a high innovation propensity and create after a medium term period more innovation compared with the others.     

Social capital and the public‐private divide in Greek regions

This article argues that the concept of social capital, by facilitating collective action among the actors within institutional networks, constitutes a prerequisite for overcoming the public‐private divide and achieving synergies at the regional and local levels. Thus, within the framework of European regional policy, it is considered to be the crucial factor for the processes of institutional learning and successful adaptation/Europeanisation of the subnational systems of governance. The case of Greece demonstrates that the combination of a centralised state structure and a weak civil society breeds the creation of hierarchical, clientelistic networks that undermine the process of crossing the public—private divide and inhibits the Europeanisation function of subnational governments.     

The Marxian theory of crisis,capital and the state ∗

An interpretation of the Marxian theory of crisis that rejects the ‘Keynesianism’ of most post-war contributions on the topic. Various criticisms of Marx's position are examined and two popular but incorrect versions of the theory are discussed; the underconsumptionist and disproportionality theory of crisis. An attempt is made to begin an analysis of the role of state intervention in the economy and indicate the limitations of intervention by the capitalist state implied by Marx's theory of crisis.     

Social capital and crime in New York City's low‐income housing

Abstract

This article presents evidence that components of social capital can play a prospective role in preventing crime in low‐income housing. It develops a conceptual approach to crime prevention involving social capital, alternative forms of ownership, and environmental design considerations. The study compares five programs that house New York City's poorest, mostly minority residents. The effectiveness of social capital in preventing crime is assessed using data from surveys of 487 buildings in Brooklyn, NY, and crime data from the New York City Police Department.

Results of the analysis indicate that three components of social capital—basic participation in tenant associations, tenant prosocial norms, and a building's formal organization—were all related to reducing various types of crime in the buildings under study 6 to 12 months after social capital was measured. The effectiveness of social capital was related to alternative ownership structures, building characteristics, and housing policy.     

Does public debt matter for human capital development? Evidence from Nigeria

An inquiry into the impact of external and domestic borrowings is considered timely for Nigeria, given the growing public debt profile amid deteriorating human capital development. Using data from 1990 to 2021, the study estimates the effects of domestic and external debts on Nigeria's human capital development. The study employed the fully modified ordinary least squares and canonical cointegration regression as the main estimation technique and the robustness check, respectively. The study discovered that domestic and external debt, economic growth and debt servicing exert positive and significant influence on human capital development in Nigeria while environmental pollution has an inverse and significant impact on human capital development in Nigeria. Premised on the outcomes, policy suggestions aimed at enhancing human capital development in Nigeria have been put forward.     

Social capital and the revitalization of New York City's distressed inner‐city housing

Abstract

This article presents evidence that social capital can be an effective component of locally sponsored low‐income housing programs. It provides a model for measuring social capital at the building level, where it may be most effective in improving housing quality and security. The study compares five programs in New York City that house the city's poorest, mostly minority residents. The surveys from 487 buildings in Brooklyn, NY, were analyzed to compare the success of programs in maintaining and revitalizing landlord‐abandoned buildings taken by the city in lieu of taxes.

Results of the analysis demonstrate that the positive effects of tenant ownership were largely mediated by the higher levels of social capital found in these buildings. These levels have implications for the survival and economic advancement of poor households and civic participation in poor communities. The study suggests the value of alternative homeownership programs.     

Does social capital increase political accountability? An?empirical test for Flemish municipalities

Social capital has been shown to positively influence government performance. Boix and Posner (Br. J. Polit. Sci. 28:686–693, 1998) suggest a possible explanation: social capital makes citizens monitor the government more closely. Such monitoring will be more explicit to the extent that instrumental voting motivations outweigh expressive considerations. We identify social capital as a source that facilitates instrumental voting and thus political accountability. We present an empirical test of the Boix and Posner hypothesis and find a positive link between perceived quality of government and election results of the incumbent parties. Crucially, we find this link to be stronger in municipalities high in social capital.     

Do high taxes lock-in capital gains? Evidence from a dual income tax system

The purpose of this paper is to study whether investors’ willingness to realize capital gains falls when the marginal tax rate on capital gains is raised. We use a rich register-based panel data set covering almost 8% of the Swedish population. The results indicate that a 10% increase in capital gains tax rate reduces the number of realizations of capital gains with 8.7% and the realized amount, given the decision to realize, with 1.9%. In addition, we find that wealthy individuals seem to respond more to changes in capital gains tax rates than less-wealthy.     

Freeing money: Why have states been more willing to liberalize capital controls than trade barriers?

This article investigates why advanced industrial states have chosen to dismantle their postwar capital controls during a period — the 1970s and 1980s — when they became less enthusiastic about eliminating trade restrictions. Four explanations are presented. First, the unique mobility and fungibility of money was important in both encouraging competitive deregulation pressures and making the control of financial movements difficult, each of which created differing collective action dynamics in the financial sector than existed in the trade field. Second, the US and Britain played a leading role in encouraging financial liberalization because they held distinct hegemonic interests in finance that did not exist to the same degree in the trade sector. Third, domestic coalitions of neo-liberal advocates and internationally-oriented corporate interests encountered relatively little domestic political resistance to their demands for financial liberalization because of the low domestic political visibility of international financial issues. Finally, financial liberalization and trade protectionism may in fact have been directly related: it has proven difficult for states to maintain liberal practices in finance and trade at the same time.     

Financializing the poor: ‘dead capital’, women’s gold and microfinance in Pakistan

This study examines how Pakistani microfinance banks’ (MFBs) collateralized microcredit arrangements take advantage of the cultural centrality of gold in women’s lives. In so doing, it contributes to the wider debate on financial inclusion and financialization. The product, processes and narratives examined are a local manifestation of global finance’s emphasis on engaging commercially viable means to bring previously ‘unbanked’ populations within its fold. Based on fieldwork in Lahore and Karachi, two of Pakistan’s largest cities, this paper highlights how the ‘financial inclusion’ agenda of microfinance has effectively financialized the lives of poor Pakistani women. Our analysis finds that Pakistani MFBs draw on patriarchy’s hierarchical norms and the precariousness of low-income living in ways which bolster their own financial positions. This is supported by the country’s central bank, which has granted collateralized microfinance products a ‘risk-free’ rating, easing the path to the financialization of jewellery which in a South Asian context is directly associated with women’s social standing and economic security. The outcome is a deepening of deep-seated vulnerabilities.     

Japan’s ‘pro-nuclear civil society’: Power in the analysis of social capital and civil society

ABSTRACT

Civil society research can be categorized into a school in the tradition of Gramsci focusing on social movements and a Tocquevillean school focusing on associations and social capital. The author reviews both schools’ research on the Japanese case and analyses a number of pro-nuclear citizen groups built up by the Japanese nuclear industry. The author analyses their financial data and historical development to demonstrate that they have been built up as countermovement by the nuclear industry. The author traces their mobilization processes to criticize the social capital approach. In Japanese political science, traditionally a dense web of hierarchical associations and ties of obligation have been seen as enforcing clientelism and top-down political control. This makes Japan an interesting case for the social capital approach. Social capital researchers have reinterpreted hierarchical networks as indicators of a strong civil society. Taking into account Bourdieu’s notion of social capital challenges this view and supports arguments of state influence forwarded by parts of the Gramscian school.     

One of all the others – a life course study of scouts,social capital,and stratification in the Swedish ‘Folkhem’

This longitudinal study shows that scouts have higher incomes than others 14 years after their participation when controlling for social background, sex, and individual cognitive tests. But scouting has no significant effects on future criminality. Social exclusion and criminal behaviour are so marginal that they require more specific types of explanations. The results can be interpreted as signs that taking part in scouts significantly contributes as a step in the social pathway to the upper classes of society. By supporting scouting, the welfare state seems not to prevent problem behaviour but runs the risk of contributing to social stratification.