Social Capital as a Factor of Economic Growth in the Regions of Russia

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of sociocultural factors of economic growth on economic development of the Russian regions. The article analyses the influence of various forms of social capital according to James Coleman (norms of trust between individuals, horizontal ties, social norms and values) on economic growth rates of the Russian regions. The paper uses an augmented neoclassical model of economic growth to test the hypotheses about the impact of the initial social capital distribution on the subsequent GRP growth rates in 2007–2016. Particular attention is paid to the selection of relevant tools for measuring the level of social capital of the Russian regions. The empirical specifications of the proposed theoretical model of regional economic growth were evaluated using the two-stage least squares regression (2SLS); the robustness check was carried out using the system generalized method of moments (system GMM). The results of econometric analysis show that the initial spatial distribution of generalized trust does not have a statistically signifi cant effect on economic development. At the same time, the activity of lobbying groups (Olson groups) reduces the rate of economic growth in the regions of the Russian Federation. Increasing the level of civic cooperation (the willingness of citizens to unite to solve their own or social problems in the region) is associated with higher rates of economic development. For the selected study period, the economic signifi cance of sociocultural factors is marginal relative to the significance of the fundamental neoclassical growth factors. Unlocking the potential of sociocultural factors of economic growth may suggest activating the processes of structural transformation of the Russian economy by increasing the economic importance of the private sector and SME segment.