SOCIAL CAPITAL,ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,AND THE QUALITY OF GOVERNMENT: HOW INTERACTION BETWEEN SOCIAL CAPITAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AFFECTS THE QUALITY OF GOVERNMENT

This study investigates the relationship between social capital and governmental quality by considering the relationship between social capital and economic development in a cross‐section of countries. It is shown that countries with both high levels of social capital and economic development exhibit higher quality of government as measured by government effectiveness, rule of law, impartiality, professionalism, and a governmental quality index. It is also shown that countries with both high levels of social capital and low levels of economic development are associated with higher governmental quality as measured by professionalism. These findings question the use of heterogeneous indicators for governmental quality and show that the relationship between social capital and the quality of government depends on the level of economic development. Thus, the importance of the level of economic development in explaining the variation in the quality of government sheds light on the social capital theories of governmental qualities.     

Socioeconomic Development and Voluntary Associations in Swedish Municipalities

Abstract

This paper explores the link between voluntary associations and socioeconomic development in Swedish municipalities. According to previous research in the field of social capital, the causal flow goes from having many associations to a high level of socioeconomic development. It has been argued, however, that the causal flow from the level of socioeconomic development to the level of social capital is so weak that it can be ignored. This paper tests a simple simultaneous equation model in order to test whether the causal flows from socioeconomic development to social capital and the inverse are simultaneous. The study is carried out at an aggregated level (the municipalities) that corresponds to the lowest administrative level in Sweden. The results indicate that the socioeconomic development cannot be ignored and that there is a simultaneous relationship. Moreover, the empirical findings indicate that the relationship is negative between the variables expressing socioeconomic development and associational density.     

Beyond Paternalism Towards Social Capital: Local Governance Reform in Portugal

An urge to reform local government in Portugal requires a sensitive approach to the role of social capital and, particularly, to the consequences of local governance arrangements in its formation. This research agenda, greatly influenced by the identification of positive externalities of social capital, has generated several claims regarding the need for proactive and objective top-down initiatives. Though assuming that institutions and public policies can have positive effects on social capital building, this article tries to contribute to the debate, focusing on the challenges met by local administration reform, arguing that it requires a four-fold approach: the identification of local government functions and the role of the State; a close look at institutional design and citizen engagement mechanisms; correct tools for allowing civil society reinforcement and social capital building; and recognizing political leadership as a fundamental aspect of a governance arrangement.     

An Inquiry into the Development Process of Village Industries: The Case of a Knitwear Cluster in Northern Vietnam

While village industries are known to have high potential to grow, their growth process has seldom been analysed. This study explores the development process of a rapidly growing village-based garment cluster in northern Vietnam. We found that both the human capital and social capital (measured by the kinship ties with overseas Vietnamese traders) of the proprietors facilitated their innovative entry into new export markets. Furthermore, general human capital acquired by schooling and specific human capital acquired by management experience are found to have contributed to the adoption of a vertically integrated production system, which, in turn, contributed to enhanced enterprise performance.     

The reformists: Kalahi and the performances of local government officials in Bohol,Philippines

To make sense of the gap between the theory and practice of community-driven development (CDD), development scholars and practitioners have proposed that the success of interventions is relative to the reform-mindedness of local government officials. This article sheds some light on the good governance performances of local government officials as part of the CDD programme Kalahi in the province of Bohol, Philippines. It highlights that locally, mayors who styled themselves as reformists enjoyed heightened power and electoral victories. In parallel, the province experienced a pattern of ‘growth with immiserisation’ and persistent political clientelism wrapped in a discourse of pro-poor development.     

History and Institutions in the Rebuilding of Social Capital after Forced Resettlement in the Philippines and Indonesia

Resettlement results in the loss of social capital from which poor households can draw resources for sustenance, survival and wellbeing. While Putnam deems social capital formation as pre-determined by a community’s history of civic engagement, the institutional view argues that social capital is generated through the institutions’ interventions. Utilising a comparative approach involving two resettlement sites, one in the Philippines and one in Indonesia, this article presents findings on the explanatory power of these two perspectives. The Philippine case is greatly influenced by the institutional interventions while the Indonesian case testifies to the validity of the theoretical perspective of Putnam.     

Timber access in the Indian Himalaya: Rethinking social capital in public policy

Timber access in Himachal Pradesh (India) is formally regulated by state policy. However, actual access is determined through a complex network of informal social relations developed and maintained over time, which form a critical resource that allows particular forms of capital accumulation. This essay shows that the nature of policy execution in India necessitates the development and use of this type of social capital. However, existing social hierarchies compartmentalise social space and create differential opportunities for social agents to establish and nurture such networks. While supporting critiques of currently popular understandings of social capital that draw on Putnam and Coleman, this essay makes a case for the relevance of Bourdieu's conception of social capital in understanding the process of social differentiation.     

Russia's missing link? Social capital,entrepreneurialism, and economic performance in post-communist Russia

This paper argues that there is a spurious correlation between social capital and economic development in the regions of post-communist Russia. This argument rejects Robert Putnam's collectivist hypothesis that social capital is the ubiquitous cause of economic growth. Rather, the data presented in this paper indicates that individualistic behavior in the form of entrepreneurialism, has been the prerequisite for growth in post-communist Russia. While social capital may slow or accelerate economic growth, it will not cause it. Without entrepreneurialism, social capital cannot be harnessed for economic development. In essence, social capital does not create wealth, entrepreneurs do.     

Remittances,Bonds and Bridges: Remittances and Social Capital in Burundi

This study explores the effects of remittances on households’ structural social capital in urban Burundi. Distinctions are made between bonding and bridging social capital, referring to intra- versus inter-network ties of family members and friends. The results demonstrate that remittance-receiving households invest more in bridging social capital by participating in organisations (donating time), but make fewer monetary contributions, compared to non-receiving households. Remittances have mixed effects on bonding social capital: receiving households give significantly less gifts to family members and friends, but are more likely to send internal remittances, compared to non-receivers. The implications of these findings for post-conflict development are discussed.     

The possibility of real income losses from technical progress in protected industries: The case of Pakistan

This article examines the relationship between social capital and the creation and exchange of knowledge for grassroots development. It applies a framework that originated in developed countries to the experimental phase of a successful entrepreneurial development programme, undertaken between 2006 and 2012 in rural Bangladesh. Although generally applicable, the framework’s structural dimensions are further developed and divided into three functional subtypes of social capital (bonding, bridging and linking) following distinct pathways in their contribution to the creation and exchange of knowledge, demonstrating domains where programme participants co-created know-how. In conclusion, a framework representing the links between social capital and knowledge is presented.     

Social Capital,Human Capital and the Community Mechanism: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Economists

For facilitating the development of a consensus on the concept of social capital among economists, this paper proposes its operational definition in a way consistent with the definitions of physical and human capital and discusses the relevance on the use of the metaphor of capital for social capital. Further, the unique characteristics in the production and accumulation of social capital in comparison with physical and human capital are identified in relation with the community which is considered the central mechanism to produce social capital. The merits and drawbacks of the community relative to the market and the state are examined with the aim of identifying the conditions under which social capital can be supplied efficiently in the direction of promoting economic progress.     

Colonisation,Institutions and Development: New Evidence

This article analyses current attempts to identify the factors underlying long-term economic growth. The author criticises some of the arguments and historical evidence on which the two main explanations that dominate recent literature are based: the institutional approach and the approach focusing on the importance of geographical factors. Using an approach which is deliberately eclectic, the author considers the role of geography, international trade, human capital and institutional quality in explaining development. A new estimation is carried out through Two Stages Least Squares (TSLS) with instrumental variables. The results of the empirical model confirm the central role of institutions in long-term economic growth. However, certain geographical conditions also seem to have influenced countries' chances of progress. The human capital is a less robust factor in explaining economic growth and trade openness does not seem significant in any estimation. Nevertheless, several questions remain to be answered, suggesting that cross-country estimations need to be complemented with a deeper historical analysis.     

Symbolic Gestures: The Development Terrain of Post-Tsunami Villages in (Southern) Sri Lanka

This article analyses how rituals and ceremonies were deployed in the post-tsunami rehabilitation process in Sri Lanka to ‘incorporate’ development projects into the habitus and social reality of local communities. It argues that even though the aid delivery process is represented as a gift, in reality it is more concerned with strengthening the social capital of the local and foreign donors. Through this process there is an expectation and an implicit demand for acquiescence from the beneficiaries, which leaves them with a social debt. This, in turn, compels them to participate in the game of development rituals and ceremonies, in order to express their (ambivalent) gratitude and thankfulness. Through two case studies, we explore how the good intentions of donors to provide aid and alleviate suffering and the acceptance of this aid by the local communities, results in an asymmetric relationship where both become accomplices of Bourdieuian notions of subtle and gentle violence.     

Social Capital and Community Participation in Post-Soviet Armenia: Implications for Policy and Practice

This article argues that the social capital framework used by development agencies in community-driven development projects in post-Soviet countries may not be adequate for analysing conditions affecting community participation. Research in Armenia shows that the availability of social capital in a community may not necessarily translate into participation. The governance environment plays a key role in affecting the nature and forms of community participation and in shaping local institutions in Armenia. The research argues against the ‘cultural’ view of institutional change, which presumes that the main barriers to participation are posed by cultural factors, such as interpersonal trust and the ‘mentality’ of post-Soviet citizens. Development interventions that focus on building social capital as a means to promote community participation may not be effective without addressing broader structural factors affecting participation.     

Social Capital: the politico-emancipatory potential of a disputed concept

Since the middle of the 1990s the concept of social capital has provoked rapidly growing interest. Social theorists, policy makers and those ngos working on the edge of theory and practice became fascinated with social capital. International organisations like the World Bank, undp and the oecd upgraded social capital to the ‘missing link’ in understanding (under)development. However, it did not take long before the critique cast shadows on this euphoria. Initially the critique was concerned with problems of defining and measuring social capital and its inadequate theoretical elaboration. In a later stage the critique accused social capital of forming part of the anti-politics machine of the post-Washington consensus. Social capital would reflect a point of view in which there was no room for an analysis of power inequality and struggle over access to resources. This article starts with an overview of the most important problems attached to the notion of social capital. The focus is then shifted to the contours of the global political crisis, which acts as a frame of reference for an attempt to reassess the politico-emancipatory potential of social capital.     

Economic Development Subsidies and the Funding of Private Prisons

For-profit prison corporations have sold prison privatization as a tool for economic development. The idea of prisons became more appealing once for-profit prison corporation demonstrated that they could finance, build, design, and construct prisons with private capital from private investment companies. Many private prisons throughout the United States are provided local, state, and federal economic development subsidies — which may include tax advantaged financing, property tax abatements, infrastructure improvements, and personnel training and development resources. Most research on prison privatization has examined costs and quality comparisons of private run prisons to government run correctional facilities. This article examines the factors that predict economic development subsidies to private prisons, which include: economic, social control, geographic, and political factors. Logistic regression results indicate the per capita gross state product, political ideology, black male disenfranchisement, and mandatory sentencing laws predict economic development subsidies to private prison corporations.     

The Persistence of the Cattle Economy in Zululand,South Africa, 1900–50

This article critiques the recent turn towards social capital from the perspective of the history of colonial Uganda and the Gold Coast. Social capitalists emphasise the need for community solidarity and networks as an essential framework for development. This emphasis usually assigns a role to traditional institutions, which is interesting for historians of Africa because it calls up the ghost of the colonial doctrine of Indirect Rule. In fact, a very close parallel exists between Indirect Rule and social capital as tools of development. There is a crucial difference, however, between the two doctrines. While colonial officials used discourses about African community to shore up the power of the dominant elites, social capitalists tend to ignore the possibility that community-based policies might reproduce unequal power relations at the village level. For this reason, it is important to historicise social capital with reference to the colonial period.     

Research and trends in governmetal accounting and reporting

Budgeting is a form of financial reporting using accounting information. This paper reviews current research and trends in governmental accounting and reporting for state and local governments in the United States. In the first section, the contributions of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board are reviewed, including the conceptual framework now guiding the evolution of accounting standards. Also reviewed are developments that are expected to have a significant impact on budgeting in the future, including service efforts and accomplishments reporting, financial condition, and budget reporting. The second section reviews accounting research in four distinct areas: capital markets; financial reporting; behavioral experiments; and, public choice. The future of governmental accounting and reporting will reflect changes in the standards of practice and the use of theory to direct research.     

Social capital and democracy in Russia

The two basic objectives of this study are to determine whether or not Russia has stocks of social capital upon which to draw as it seeks to democratize, and to examine the nature of the relationship between social capital and democracy in Russia. I present both qualitative and quantitative evidence that social capital exists in many parts of Russia. After a quantitative analysis of social capital and democratization, which identifies a strong positive relationship, I suggest that if the center is able to sustain democracy, Russia should be able to consolidate democratic rule.     

The Role of Organizational Social Capital in Increasing Organizational Performance in Public Organizations: Evidence from Kyrgyz National Police (KNP)

Organizational social capital can develop a strong foundation for trusted relationships and committed actions in communities and organizations. This concept was examined in the public organization setting in this study. Organizational social capital is a source for trust-building processes where participative decision-making, feedback on performance, and empowerment are important elements of this phenomenon. Three dimensions of organizational social capital (participation, feedback on performance, and empowerment) and organizational commitment were examined in this study. The influence of organizational social capital on the perceived organizational commitment of the Kyrgyz National Police (KNP) is observed by utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of this study indicate that the three dimensions of organizational social capital have statistically significant relationships with perceived organizational commitment. Overall, results suggest that organizational social capital, with its dimensions, is a source for the trust-building process which influences perceived organizational commitment. Moreover, by practicing empowerment it is possible to increase the number of committed officers, also an important factor in improving organizational performance.