What is high and low, and positive and negative social capital?
Export Reference Download PDF Print We often talk about social capital in general terms, describing it as high or low, good or bad, positive or negative, or weak or strong. But social capital is complex and multidimensional. Does it make sense to talk about social capital in general terms, and what do we mean by […]
The High Cost of Cheap Social Capital
This paper briefly reviews the theory of social, negative, and cheap social capital and then explains the popularity and the high cost of cheap social capital. Next, this paper points out that our voluntary exchanges (which are enabled by prospects of mutual gain) and the high cost of involuntary exchanges (which are entered into in response to threats and defensive and destructive acts) both reflect our responses to the same physical and socio-emotional needs. Therefore, what differentiates our responses to similar needs are the relationships we have with others—whether they are social, negative, or cheap. Finally, this paper offers some suggestions for avoiding the high cost of cheap social capital.
The Cheap Side of Social Capital
Earned, inherited, and covenant commonalities enable persons and groups of people to develop sympathy and empathy for each other. The sympathy and empathy that one person or group has for another person or group is defined here as social capital. The absence of commonalities often results in relationships of apathy and antipathy that one person or group has for another person or group, defined here as negative social capital. People and groups that share negative social capital for the same person or group can form cheap social capital relationships characterized by the couplet—the enemy of my enemy is my strange bedfellow.
Introduction to Social Capital for Researchers
Webinar This session provides a foundation for understanding what social capital is, where it comes from, and what it does as well as some of the challenges of reading the literature and conducting research on social capital. The session is designed to kick-start your social capital research or to help you with your existing research. […]
The difference between social capital and cultural capital
Export Reference Download PDF Print The concepts of social capital and cultural capital are similar and overlap in some significant ways depending on the meaning attributed to each concept. Cultural capital has at least two different meanings, and social capital has a multiplicity of definitions that can be grouped into at least four different broad […]
Social Capital in the Digital Age Vocational Education and Training (VET) System in Georgia
Abstract The present article describes the process of producing structural social capital in the e-Government context and aims at contributing to the profound understanding of the enabling role of non-traditional co-production Understanding of structural social capital in a non-traditional – based vocational education and training system (VET) can be developed in line with the following […]
Economics Imperialism and Social Capital Relationship between social capital and economics
Export Reference Download PDF Print During the 1990s, national governments and international agencies such as the World Bank, OECD, and UNDP discovered social capital, heralding it as the ‘missing link’ in explaining development outcomes and an important factor to build and utilise for improved program performance (Harriss, 2002). This was primarily driven by the World […]
Evolution of the concept of social capital
Export Reference Download PDF Print The term ‘social capital’ was virtually unknown until the 1990s, since which time it has rapidly increased in popularity and spread throughout academia and beyond to become a familiar term in community development, business, and politics, and is even entering popular language. The terms ‘social capital’ was used as early […]
The “wicked problems” of social capital theory
Export Reference Download PDF Print Over the last 20 years of researching and applying the concept of social capital I have constantly navigated certain “problems” with the concept. There are several nagging tensions and incongruences associated with the concept that are typically ignored but are impossible to escape and, it seems, to resolve. Critics are […]
Social capital measurement
Attempts to measure social capital are flawed by problems with separating form, source and consequences – a common problem with the conceptualisation of social capital. Unfortunately, few researchers understand this complexity and readily confuse the three, resulting in measurement indices that don’t rigorously reflect the state of social capital in the study context. Social capital […]
