Social Capital, Good Governance, and Sustainable Development: Analysing Experiences from Asia

Abstract

In the last decade or so ‘social capital’ has become an important term in the arena of development or community development in particular. All the authors and proponents of social capital agree that social capital consists of norms, trust, values, networks, reciprocity, and organisation. This paper examines specific aspects of local actions and organisations creating social capital in achieving sustainable development in three Asian countries. It also looks at how social capital created by these groups and organisations helps in good governance required for achieving goals for sustainable development. The work belongs to a major comparative research on 'Social Capital and Asian Sustainable Development Management', and based on primary and secondary sources of information, including publications related to the concerned actions and organisations. In addition, field visits and personal communications with many stakeholders by, and direct observation of, the author in Bangladesh has been helpful in collecting information and reaching a conclusion. The work also draws on the works undertaken by two of the author's colleagues in the above project in the Philippines (Bautista, 2001), and Thailand (Boonmathya, 2001b). The first two sections of this work, after this introduction, highlight some important factors related to sustainable development, and its relationship to good governance. Then the discussion on ‘social capital in action’ (Section 4) is divided into: organic or spontaneous groups, like ‘family and kinship groups’, and ‘neighbourhood groups and networks’; and externally induced groups and organizations like government introduced organizations and actions like the microcredit groups, rural electric cooperatives (PBS) and agriculture cooperatives, and the government introduced tripartite engagement systems like the CIDSS in the Philippines creating social capital for empowerment. The ‘discussion’ at the end highlights the sources of social capital as religious values and beliefs, norms of (social and economic) reciprocity, influence of the social entrepreneurs, and patron-client relationships. The generated social capital ensures accountability, participation, plurality, and transparency- four important aspects of good governance, and helps reduce poverty creating access to environmentally sound economic activities for sustainable development. The major question, however, is that if the individuals' religious values, social and economic reciprocity, relationship with the relevant social entrepreneurs, and patron-client relationships are important factors in the creation of social capital, what will happen where the community is not so close-knit e.g. in urban areas? This understanding is important in a situation where urban poverty is seen as a threat to sustainable development in many Asian countries because of their spontaneous urban growth in the recent past.