Social Capital Accumulation Research Articles

Social Networks Over the Lifecycle, and the Relationship between Human Capital and Social Capital

While an extensive literature studies social capital outcomes, the evolution process of social capital remains largely ignored. This paper presents a dynamic model of lifetime decision making of the individual's social capital accumulation. Structural parameters of the model - estimated using the method of simulated moments - explain the observed lifetime variations of social capital stocks and flows. The findings also indicate multiple links between human capital and social capital working in opposite directions: people with more education have higher opportunity costs of time, which increase their costs of investment in social capital. But, at the same time, they also receive greater benefits from their social capital, and because their net benefits are higher we observe higher levels of social capital investment among people with higher education.

The relationships between supplier development, commitment, social capital accumulation and performance improvement

This study investigates the relationships between U.S. buying firms’ supplier development efforts, commitment, social capital accumulation with key suppliers, and buying firm performance. We identify linkages between supply chain management research on supplier development and organization theory research on social capital to consider how buying firm commitment to a long-term relationship, cognitive capital (goals and values), structural capital (information sharing, supplier evaluation, supplier development), and relational capital (length of relationship, buyer dependency, supplier dependency) are related to buying firm performance improvements (cost improvements, and quality, delivery, flexibility improvements). Analysis of buying firms from the U.S. automotive and electronics industries provides support for the theory that buyer commitment and social capital accumulation with key suppliers can improve buying company performance. Moreover, the findings suggest that the relationships of structural and relational capital vary depending on the type of performance improvement considered.

Social capital accumulation and the evolution of social participation

We study the co-evolution of social participation and social capital accumulation, taking the view that the former contributes to the latter, and both contribute to socially enjoyed leisure. We show that a process of substitution of private for social activities (observable in some advanced, affluent economies), might be self-reinforcing and lead to a Pareto-dominated steady state. We find some scope for policy intervention, but we also acknowledge its difficulty.

Economics of Social Capital*

The literature on the idea of ‘social capital’ is now enormous. Offering an alternative to impersonal markets and coercive states, the communitarian institutions built around social capital have looked attractive to scholars in the humanities and social sciences. The literature in consequence has a warm glow to it. In this article, I first study the various contexts in which the promises people make to one another are credible and then suggest that the accumulation of social capital is a possible route to creating such a context. I offer a tight definition of social capital – namely, interpersonal networks – so as not to prejudge its ability to enhance human well‐being. The links between the microfoundations of social capital and the macroeconomic performance of economies are then studied. I also show that economic theory not only identifies circumstances in which communitarian institutions can function well, but that it also uncovers a dark side, namely, their capicity to permit one group to exploit another within long‐term relationships.

Studying HRD Practitioners: A Social Capital Model

The work of the human resource development (HRD) practitioner is continuously evolving. Human resource development is now expected to make a strategic level contribution and contribute to individual and organizational effectiveness. Human resource development practitioners are increasingly required to network and build relationships to obtain support, resources, information, and knowledge. The accumulation of social capital is considered important in determining individual career success and role performance. Given the importance attached to the relationship-building dimension of HRD practitioners’ roles, we posit that those with access to valuable social capital will be more successful in their careers and role performance. We propose a model that incorporates network and content perspectives of social capital. We argue that various characteristics of the HRD practitioner’s network results in network benefits. These network benefits mediate the relationship between characteristics of the practitioner’s social capital and role and career outcomes. The article then highlights the implications of our model for HRD research and practice.

Capital social das comunidades beneficiadas pelo programa de combate à pobreza rural - PCPR/Projeto São José - PSJ - estado do Ceará

A proposição deste estudo foi identificar e analisar o capital social tangível e intangível de comunidades beneficiadas com os recursos do Programa de Combate a Pobreza Rural -PCPR/Projeto São José no Estado do Ceará. Os dados são originários de entrevistas diretas com beneficiários e líderes de comunidades onde foram implantados subprojetos de abastecimento de água, ação fundiária, eletrificação rural e mecanização agrícola. Determinou-se o índice de capital social para cada subprojeto. Os resultados indicaram que as associações possuem um nível médio de acumulação de capital social e que os recursos aplicados pelo PCPR/PSJ contribuíram para avançar na acumulação deste capital nas associações e/ou comunidades.

農業構造改革と集落営農の展望

There are now difficulties in reforming the agricultural structure in Japan. The accumulation of farmland to largesize farmers is not necessarily successful. On the other hand, village-based group farming that consists of part-time farmers is sometimes more successful in terms of cost reduction. At other times, the cooperation between part-time farmers and large size farmers brings about rational land use and drastic cost reduction. But the main purpose of village-based group farming is not in cost reduction but in the maintenance of regional resources, environment, rural society and lives. Their activities makes for the accumulation of social capital. When the regional trust and network based on the social capital are workable, the agricultural structure reform will be successful because the market of the farmland is not complete and the regional resources use have externalities in rural society.

Schweizer Welten des Sozialkapitals. Empirische Untersuchungen zum sozialen Leben in Regionen und Kantonen

ZusammenfassungTo what extent do the Swiss Regions and Cantons differ with regard to their stock of social capital? Based on the data of the Swiss Household Panel this article presents the first empirical investigation of the accumulation of social capital in Swiss sub‐national units in a comparative perspective. Empirical evidence implies that the cantons of the German speaking region show more social capital than the French and Italian speaking parts of the country measured by the engagement in voluntary associations, or the interaction with colleagues and the neighbourhood. However, the Latin cantons show a greater stock of social interaction among family and close friends. Furthermore, our findings provide evidence for the existence of five Swiss worlds of social capital varying among the various types of social interaction.

Focusing on children and youth: The role of social capital in educational outcomes in the context of immigration and diversity

Social capital matters for young people, especially for immigrant and minority youth; however what counts as social capital for young people is poorly specified. This paper reviews recent studies on the influences of parents, communities and schools; then focuses on youth social networks that begin to reveal how young people form, develop and use social capital. In light of this knowledge base, we address social and educational policy-making, making suggestions for capacity building for future policy and research. We conclude with recommendations toward a model of social capital accumulation.

The Impact of Executive Compensation on the Post-Merger Integration of U.S. and German Firms

Based on research in management compensation and on the theory of international diversification, this paper analyzes the impact of executive compensation on the success of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) between U.S. and German firms. The results show that differences in the level and structure of U.S. and German executive compensation packages impair incentives, monitoring efforts, and management’s willingness to innovate. Cooperation across national boundaries, a collective goal orientation, and the accumulation of social capital are hindered. Depending on the type of diversification, the joint firm faces a trade-off between the realization of synergies in related businesses and increasing conflicts among managers with distinct compensation packages.

Public Versus Private Savings Rates in LDCs: Please Effects in recent development

Please Effects, first noted in the 1950s, refer to more vigorous tax efforts having an adverse effect on overall savings in LDCs. It is argued here that, by the 1980s, the reforms imposed by conditionality combined with a less forgiving world economy should have led to significant improvements in public savings performances such that Please Effects would no longer be a widely observed phenomenon, and that perhaps even 'reverse' Please Effects might now be observed. Based on a broadly specified cross-country life cycle regression model, and samples ranging from 89 to 93 LDCs, no evidence whatsoever was found for Please Effects in both the 1980s and the 1990s. In fact, our results provided clear evidence for just the opposite, although for tax policy purposes the reverse Please Effects were not found to be especially large. Savings rates would typically rise about 3% for a 10% rise in the tax/GDP ratio. It was concluded that those who would argue for a greater public role in economies that are clearly savings deficient may once again have a case if, as our results indicate, increased taxation to fund social capital accumulation is not at the expense of savings overall.

Trust and social capital in the regulation of lending activities

When a bank grants a loan, it takes the risk that the borrower will not honor his debt. To reduce this uncertainty, banks have created instrumental evaluation methods in order to try to evaluate the risk more objectively. An analysis of financial counselors’ practices shows the limits of these methods. To obtain information needed for the financial risk evaluation and to reduce the information asymmetry between bankers and borrowers, financial counselors integrate social networks to establish bonds of trust and to accumulate social capital. The quality of the social bond determines the quality of the gathered information and therefore the quality of the risk evaluation. Bank management is aware of the limits of instrumental methods and the importance of social risk evaluation. To improve their economic efficiency, they modify their work organization and their management practices so as to facilitate the emergence of a bond of trust and the accumulation of social capital by their financial counselors. The analysis of economic actors’ speech and behavior involved in activities of credit shows that behind the claimed altruism nature of the trust relationship exists an economic rationality whose social and temporal horizons of optimization differ from the model of the trade exchange seen in conventional economic theory.

Sustainability and Economics: A Matter of Scale?

Sustainability is a global issue concerning future generations, but steps towards sustainable development must also be taken at the spatial scales of regions and at the temporal scales of individual lives. Different scales matter in social networks and in cultural realities, too. The fact that relatively small regions can dominate global markets for products based on continuous innovation points to the accumulation of a specific social capital in these regions. This resource is a club good at the regional scale. Similar goods exist at national scales. Their development depends to a considerable extent on expectations that play a very different role in the short and in the long run. In the former, the efficient market hypothesis seems a reasonable approach. In the latter, very different approaches need to be developed. Understanding how processes at the regional, national and global level interact in the short and in the long run will be vital for a successful management of the transition towards a sustainable world economy.

Social Dimensions of Organic Coffee Production in Mexico: Lessons for Eco-Labeling Initiatives

Significant attention has been given to the relationship between small coffee farms and biodiversity in recent years. This article argues that the interest in "bird-friendly" coffees and other forms of biodiversity marketing have much to learn from the 15-year development of another relatively successful, environmentally friendly coffee product: certified organic coffee. This Mexican case study argues that organic coffee emerged as a result of a series of institutional transformations that, in interaction with particular ecosystems, have left their imprint on the agricultural landscape. The emergence of organic coffee in Mexico arose from more than a decade of populist agrarian organizing and accompanying organizational innovations, and depended upon the substantial amount of preexisting "social capital accumulation" in the Mexican countryside. Eco-labeling efforts focus on certification criteria and marketing, and pay insufficient attention to the social processes that can lead to the outcome of a sustainable product and sustainable agricultural landscapes.

Street Children in Moscow: Using and Creating Social Capital

The paper analyses the strategies of homeless street children in Moscow connected with the accumulation of social capital. Based on recent empirical research, it looks at the involvement of children in non-criminal and criminal subcultures as a way to get access to important networks and resources, and shows how young people use their social skills and appropriate subcultural norms and values in order to build alternative careers. It demonstrates that children's social background plays an important role in their trajectories in the urban informal economy and society, and that they should not be viewed, as it is usually suggested in the social exclusion paradigm, as a single dispossessed mass which has fallen through support networks in various risk scenarios. Research data is reviewed to provide evidence that Moscow's homeless children are resourceful and deeply social agents who find surrogate families and ad hoc social memberships.

Social and cultural capital in project marketing service firms: Danish architectural firms on the German market

This article analyses the marketing activities of three Danish architectural firms in Germany during the 1990s from a perspective that is new to project marketing, in that the Bourdivan concepts of social and cultural capital are applied to the offerings and activities of firms. In architecture, cultural capital accumulation entails such things as building visible buildings, winning design competitions, or obtaining important tenders, whereas social capital is accumulated through the recognition by other construction industry actors that one is a member of their circles. The cases presented provide support for our claim that the accumulation of social and cultural capital is crucial to acquiring architectural projects, while also indicating that cultural and social capital are internationally transferable to a limited extent only. This in turn suggests that national construction industries are best viewed as distinct project marketing milieus.

Increasing Returns to Scale in Affluent Knowledge‐Rich Economies

This paper departs from the existing growth literature in not assuming a priori a specific production technology and offering instead a theory of production technology that captures the effects of changes in the level, composition, and forces of accumulation of capital on the productivity of an economy. The theory of production technology shows that an affluent knowledge‐rich economy violates the Inada second condition because of its high level of knowledge, human, and social capital. Substitution of knowledge capital for physical capital and the self‐reinforcing nature of the process of accumulation of knowledge, human, and social capital are the engines of growth in such economies. Poor economies, on the other hand, may exhibit neoclassical production technology of diminishing returns to capital and get trapped into a low‐level steady state owing to their ever‐growing need for physical capital and also to unfavorable supply conditions for knowledge capital, lower levels of knowledge, human, and social capital in these economies being inadequate to trigger the self‐reinforcing dynamics. The mechanics of endogenous growth are essentially different in rich and poor economies because the production possibility surface is non‐convex in the former, and this difference explains the sustained divergence of their growth rates.

Juvenile Delinquency and the Social Development Model: The Retrospective Accounts of Homeless Substance Abusers

Teens involved with drugs and engaged in delinquent behavior lessen their life chances. This article examines the relationship between early illicit drug exposure, delinquency, and subsequent adult experience through the life history accounts of 31 men who are homeless drug addicts today. The men's retrospective reports link personal history and social circumstance to describe common pathways associated with and emerging from adolescent delinquency and drug involvement. Their accounts, framed within the social development model, indicate that the life chances of teens at risk might improve if policy-based solutions and interventions target and ameliorate contextual and interpersonal risk factors interfering with the accumulation of social capital.

The World Bank and social capital: Lessons from ten rural development projects in the Philippines and Mexico

Social capital is widely recognized as one of the few sources of capital available to the poor, yet the processes by which development policies affect the accumulation of that social capital are not well understood. The World Bank, through its funding of development projects, affects the institutional environments for the accumulation of such social capital. The question is how to determine whether that institutional context is enabling, and to what degree. This paper compares ten recent World Bank-funded rural development projects in Mexico and the Philippines to explore how the processes of project design and implementation influence the institutional environments for the accumulation of horizontal, vertical, and intersectoral forms of pro-poor social capital. The findings have conceptual and policy implications for understanding the political dynamics of creating enabling environments for social capital accumulation by the poor.

Children, parental employment and educational attainment: an English case study

Using survey and time-use diary data from a local English case study, this paper examines the interplay of family life and educational attainment from a child's perspective. In this working-class community, positive educational outcomes for children were associated with material well-being, educational aspirations, maternal praise and parental employment patterns. Children performed best when mothers were in employment, but the gains were less strong when both parents worked in full-time jobs. The study contributes to unravelling the processes of social capital accumulation at a household level and shows the active role played by both children and parents in the intergenerational transmission of educational advantage and disadvantage. Copyright 1999 by Oxford University Press.