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Social Capital, Public Spending and the Quality of Economic Development: The Case of Italy

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Author Info
Fabio Sabatini (University of Rome La Sapienza)

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Abstract

This paper carries out an empirical assessment of the relationship between social capital and the quality of economic development in Italy. The analysis draws on a dataset collected by the author including about two hundred variables representing different aspects of economic development and four “structural” dimensions of social capital. The quality of development is measured through human development and indicators of the state of health of urban ecosystems, public services, gender equality, and labour markets, while social capital is measured through synthetic indicators representing strong family ties, weak informal ties, voluntary organizations, and political participation. The quality of development exhibits a strong positive correlation with bridging weak ties and a negative correlation with strong family ties. Particularly, the analysis shows a strong correlation between informal ties and an indicator of “social well-being” (synthesizing gender equality, public services and labour markets) and between voluntary organizations and the state of health of urban ecosystems. Active political participation proves to be irrelevant in terms of development and well-being. Finally, the role of public spending for education, health care, welfare work, and the environment protection is analysed, revealing a scarce correlation both with social capital and development indicators.

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Paper provided by Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei in its series Working Papers with number 2006.14.

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Date of creation: Jan 2006
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Handle: RePEc:fem:femwpa:2006.14

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Related research
Keywords: Social capital; Social networks; Public spending; Economic development; Human development; Principal component analysis;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
O15 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
O18 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses
R11 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Analysis of Growth, Development, and Changes
Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Social Norms and Social Capital; Social Networks Economic Anthropology

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References listed on IDEAS
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  5. Steven N. Durlauf, 2002. "On the Empirics of Social Capital," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(483), pages 459-479, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Robert J. Barro, 1996. "Determinants of Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Empirical Study," NBER Working Papers 5698, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Fabio Sabatini, 2005. "Resources for the Study of Social Capital," Journal of Economic Education, Helen Dwight Reid Foundation, vol. 36(2), pages 198. [Downloadable!]
  8. Angelo Antoci & Pier Luigi Sacco & Paolo Vanin, 2001. "Economic Growth and Social Poverty: The Evolution of Social Participation," Bonn Econ Discussion Papers bgse13_2001, University of Bonn, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  9. Collier, P. & Gunning, J.W., 1997. "Explaining African Economic Performance," Working Papers Series 97-2.1, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
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  10. Harrison Hong & Jeffrey D. Kubik & Jeremy C. Stein, 2001. "Social Interaction and Stock-Market Participation," NBER Working Papers 8358, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Routledge, Bryan R. & von Amsberg, Joachim, 2003. "Social capital and growth," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 167-193, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Ferrante, Francesco & Sabatini, Fabio, 2007. "Education, social capital and entrepreneurial selection in Italy," MPRA Paper 2451, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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