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Social Capital as Obstacle to Development: Brokering Land, Norms, and Trust in Rural India

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  • Levien, Michael

Abstract

Based on a study of how rural land brokers mediate the arrival of a Special Economic Zone in rural Rajasthan, this paper argues that theories of collective social capital cannot explain how networks, norms, and trust interact in a process of economic change. It then reconstructs Bourdieu’s distinct theory of individual social capital by showing how better-connected farmers are able to broker land and capture profits at the expense of fellow villagers, undermining trust, norms, and collective action. It argues that social capital is most plausibly seen as an aspect of social inequality that hinders inclusive development.

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  • Levien, Michael, 2015. "Social Capital as Obstacle to Development: Brokering Land, Norms, and Trust in Rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 77-92.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:74:y:2015:i:c:p:77-92
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.04.012
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    2. Murphy, David M.A., 2023. "Sobriety, social capital, and village network structures," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
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    6. Geoffrey M. Kistruck & Patrick Shulist, 2021. "Linking Management Theory with Poverty Alleviation Efforts Through Market Orchestration," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(2), pages 423-446, October.
    7. Mallik, Chinmoyee, 2016. "Sociology of land dispossession: Social capital and livelihoods in transition in Peri-urban Kolkata, India," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 4(C), pages 38-47.
    8. Harrison, Jane L. & Montgomery, Claire A. & Jeanty, P. Wilner, 2019. "A spatial, simultaneous model of social capital and poverty," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 183-192.
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    11. Ivica Petrikova, 2022. "The Effects of Local-Level Economic Inequality on Social Capital: Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(6), pages 2850-2877, December.
    12. Vijaya Kumar Murty & Sukarmina Singh Shankar, 2020. "Towards a Scalable Architecture for Smart Villages: The Discovery Phase," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-16, September.
    13. Kartik Misra, 2019. "Accumulation by Dispossession and Electoral Democracies : An Analysis of Land Acquisition for Special Economic Zones in India," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2019-16, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    14. Lucia Dalla Pellegrina & Angela De Michele & Giorgio Di Maio & Paolo Landoni & Susanna Parravicini, 2021. "Group Meeting Frequency and Borrowers’ Repayment Performance in Microfinance: Evidence from a Quasi-natural Experiment in South Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 30(5), pages 447-477.
    15. Gelaw, Fekadu & Speelman, Stijn & Van Huylenbroeck, Guido, 2016. "Farmers’ marketing preferences in local coffee markets: Evidence from a choice experiment in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 92-102.
    16. Wei Shui & Yiyi Zhang & Xinggui Wang & Yuanmeng Liu & Qianfeng Wang & Fei Duan & Chaowei Wu & Wanyu Shui, 2022. "Does Tibetan Household Livelihood Capital Enhance Tourism Participation Sustainability? Evidence from China’s Jiaju Tibetan Village," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-15, July.
    17. Nalin Wu & Erling Li & Yihan Su & Li Li & Li Wang, 2022. "Social Capital, Crop Specialization and Rural Industry Development—Taking the Grape Industry in Ningling County of China as an Example," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-22, July.
    18. Ranjan Vaidya, 2019. "Corruption, Re-corruption and What Transpires in Between: The Case of a Government Officer in India," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 605-620, May.
    19. Bunga Hidayati & Naoyuki Yamamoto & Hideyuki Kano & Agus Suman & Asfi Manzilati, 2017. "Social Capital in Moneylenders Phenomenon in Blimbing Traditional Market Malang Indonesia," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(3), pages 57-61.
    20. Michael Schwind & Uwe Altrock, 2023. "Negotiating Land in Rurban Bengaluru, South India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, February.
    21. Cieslik, Katarzyna, 2016. "Moral Economy Meets Social Enterprise Community-Based Green Energy Project in Rural Burundi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 12-26.

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