Solving sustainability with social capital? A paradoxical reframing of modernity?
In 1962 Rachel Carson published the book Silent Spring which thrust environmental problems into public awareness and is widely credited with inspiring the environmental movement. Yet nearly 60 years later it doesn’t seem there has been much progress towards sustainability. There has been extensive scientific investigation of environmental issues and leading scientists have twice (1992 […]
Sources of Social Capital What causes or creates social capital?
Export Reference Download PDF Print Much of the literature on social capital poorly distinguishes its source from its form and consequences. It can be very difficult to make these distinctions since many social phenomena involve complex interrelationships with complicated cyclic, relational, and mutual causality. This article discusses a wide range of sources of social capital, […]
Call for Papers: Social Capital and Development: A Contested Relationship
Chiara Pierobon PhD (Universität Bielefeld) and Lilian Tauber (Durham University) are seeking to relaunch the academic debate about the relevance of social capital theory to development. This call for papers invites researchers and practitioners to submit their paper proposal (between 1,000 and 2,000 words) by October 31, 2019. The papers will be collected for a special […]
The promise of social capital theory Or the dominance of economic discourse and triumph of capitalism?
Export Reference Download PDF Print Social capital theory has been heralded as a very important conceptual innovation. It emphasises social dimensions that have typically been marginalised by the dominant paradigm of individualism and economic rationalism. It helps to reverse the undersocialised view that assumes that humans are rational and self-interested, and largely beyond the influence […]
Social capital in economics
Export Reference Download PDF Print For economists, the term ‘social capital’ allows for the consideration of social factors that are normally beyond the purview of economic analysis. Despite their intangible nature, economists since at least David Hume and Adam Smith have been interested in the role of social factors such as trust, reputation, norms and […]
Social capital, reputation and identity in organisations Implications for leaders
We intuitively understand that our reputation is extremely important. It takes a long time to develop a good reputation, but it can be destroyed almost instantly. Reputation is an important component of individual social capital since it relates to trustworthiness and a range of other factors. We may think that our reputation is solely the […]
Understanding the impact of your social capital Social capital and leadership
Social capital may not be a phrase you have heard before, and even if you have you may not really know what it means. Social capital is a combination of words that don’t seem to belong together. How can ‘social’ be ‘capital’? This can be rather perplexing on first consideration. ‘Capital’ is an economic concept […]
Can social capital be measured? Is any measurement valid?
Social capital can be measured in a specific context where interdependencies are given due credit and attention, but I think there is a strong case to suggest it cannot be measured in a general sense. There are no robust, widely applicable and consistent ways to measure social capital that allow for comparison between different contexts. […]
Is social capital declining? Is society a waste land or just different?
You may have read about the decline of social capital that has been bandied about in academic literature and political rhetoric. While this echoes the concerns of many people about modern society, much of the interest in this topic comes from Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone. In his book, Putnam argued that the United States […]
Criticisms of social capital theory And lessons for improving practice
Export Reference Download PDF Print Discussing criticisms allows us to focus our attention on the potential weaknesses of the concept & our application of it. Social capital has been perceived as a miracle concept that is able to provide answers to a range of phenomena beyond an economic lens. Its rapid and wide application has […]
