Connected Communities - Why Does Social Capital Matter?

WHY DOES SOCIAL CAPITAL MATTER? Presentation for the Strategic Futures Group

David Halpern, PMFSU 26TH March 2002

• Three common responses • Evidence on effects • Final thoughts

Common responses • Hear it all before? Figure 1.1 References to social capital in the titles or abstracts of academic articles, 1985-2000. [Combined search conducted of Econlit; Psychlit; Crimlit; and Medline. Figure for the year 2000 projected from part-year total. Raw figure for 1991 adjusted from 18 to 8, due to 11 simultaneous ‘hits’ from 11 articles in single issue of Early Child Development and Care all being entered under keyword.] 180 Projected figure

160

– many continuities – new evidence – ecological effects: MLM, clustering

• Theoretically confused?

A r t i c l e s o n s o c ia l c a p i t a l

140 120

'Bowling alone' article

100 80 60 40

Coleman article

Putnam book

20 0 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Year

– a lot of chaff – fungability – framework

• Can’t do anything about it anyway? – Deep roots – but changing over time – successful interventions

Fig. 1…

Honours & law

Macro level

Patriotism & trust

Diplomacy, war

Int. law

Human rights, aid

Treaties

Eg trading links

Isolation

UN etc

Exclusion

Group conflict

Enforcement

Meso level Out-group understanding

Identification

• A framework • An example: the traditional community

Closure & density of network

Links between communities

Withdrawal of affection

Individual level

Love and care

Parents, siblings etc

Mutual respect

Links between strata

Shame and reputation Reciprocity etc

Acquaintances friends, etc.

Shaming & formal sanction Generosity

Links to powerful

Economic effects

• Indiv: • Meso: • Macro:

Employment and earnings; NY diamond market, firms; national & regional differences (UK);

• Path:

transaction costs & information.

Health

• Indiv: • Meso: • Macro:

social support - longitudinal studies Roseto, Finland US states, but nations?

• Path:

stress reaction and support

Crime

• Indiv: • Meso: • Macro:

personal histories, prison neighbourhood and peer effects US states, national differences

• Path:

‘social control’ and respect

Education

• Indiv: • Meso: • Macro:

family influences school & other ecological effects US states, OECD literacy

• Path:

aspiration

Government

• Indiv: • Meso: • Macro:

housing self-management Italian case + national -> supra-national

• Path:

virtuous citizens

…and finally

• Do all good things go together? • Trends • Multiple aspects - the vitamin model • Downsides • Tensions - which objective? Still choices.