Social Capital and Government Performance

Abstract

This article examines the proposition that in American cities higher levels of social capital lead to higher quality governmental performance, even when controlling for the cities’ political culture, demographic variables, and quality of life. Two indicators of social capital are employed: level of diffuse social and political trust and level of involvement in local fraternal organizations. The quality of a city’s governmental performance is indicated by data published by the Government Performance Project completed by Governing: The Magazine of States and Localities and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. The quality of performance is measured in five domains (financial management, human resource management, information technology management, capital management, and managing for results). Political culture is assessed using the Elazar distinctions among Moralistic, Traditionalistic, and Individualistic culture types. Demographic composition is assessed through aggregate census statistics on poverty, educational attainment, and non-White populations. Quality of life indicators are derived from Places Rated Almanac. In the 20 cities available for this study, the results indicate that the level of social capital has a significant independent impact on the quality of urban governmental performance, even when controlling for political culture, demographic variables, and overall quality of life. Implications are drawn for efforts at building social capital as a means to enhance democratic governance and improve government performance.