This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Will growth and technology destroy social interaction? The inverted U-shape hypothesis

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Antoci Angelo
Sabatini Fabio
Sodini Mauro

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper addresses two hot topics of the contemporary debate, social capital and economic growth. Our theoretical analysis sheds light on decisive but so far neglected issues: how does social capital accumulate over time? Which is the relationship between social capital, technical progress and economic growth in the long run? The analysis shows that the economy may be attracted by alternative steady states, depending on the initial social capital endowments and cultural exogenous parameters representing the relevance of social interaction and trust in well-being and production. When material consumption and relational goods are substitutable, the choice to devote more and more time to private activities may lead the economy to a “social poverty trap”, where the cooling of human relations causes a progressive destruction of the entire stock of social capital. In this case, the relationship of social capital with technical progress is described by an inverted U-shaped curve. However, the possibility exists for the economy to follow a virtuous trajectory where the stock of social capital endogenously and unboundedly grows.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://wp.comunite.it/data/wp_no_57_2009.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Department of Communication, University of Teramo in its series wp.comunite with number 0057.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Oct 2009
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:ter:wpaper:0057

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://wp.comunite.it/

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Giovanni Di Bartolomeo).

Related research
Keywords: Relational goods; social capital; economic growth; technical change;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Social Norms and Social Capital; Social Networks Economic Anthropology

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Durlauf, Steven N. & Fafchamps, Marcel, 2005. "Social Capital," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 26, pages 1639-1699 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "A Theory of Social Interactions," NBER Working Papers 0042, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Lisa Schur, 2003. "Employment and the Creation of an Active Citizenry," British Journal of Industrial Relations, Blackwell Publishers Ltd/London School of Economics, vol. 41(4), pages 751-771, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Akçomak, I. Semih & ter Weel, Bas, 2009. "Social capital, innovation and growth: Evidence from Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 544-567, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Rodrik, Dani, 1999. " Where Did All the Growth Go? External Shocks, Social Conflict, and Growth Collapses," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 385-412, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Annen, Kurt, 2003. "Social capital, inclusive networks, and economic performance," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 449-463, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2004. "The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 526-556, June. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. La Porta, Rafael, et al, 1997. "Trust in Large Organizations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 333-38, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Antoci, Angelo & Sacco, Pier Luigi & Vanin, Paolo, 2007. "Social capital accumulation and the evolution of social participation," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 128-143, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Sabatini, Fabio, 2009. "Social capital as social networks: A new framework for measurement and an empirical analysis of its determinants and consequences," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 429-442, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Fabio Sabatini, 2008. "Social Capital and the Quality of Economic Development," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 61(3), pages 466-499, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Bilson, John F O, 1982. "Civil Liberty-An Econometric Investigation," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(1), pages 94-114.
  13. Corneo, Giacomo, 2005. "Work and television," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 99-113, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Hirschman, Albert O, 1982. "Rival Interpretations of Market Society: Civilizing, Destructive, or Feeble?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 1463-84, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Jonathan Temple & Paul A. Johnson, 1998. "Social Capability And Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(3), pages 965-990, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. 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)
  17. Clark, Andrew E & Oswald, Andrew J, 1994. "Unhappiness and Unemployment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(424), pages 648-59, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Paldam, Martin & Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard, 2000. "An essay on social capital: looking for the fire behind the smoke," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 339-366, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Bruni, Luigino & Stanca, Luca, 2008. "Watching alone: Relational goods, television and happiness," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 65(3-4), pages 506-528, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  20. Sabatini Fabio, 2007. "The empirics of social capital and economic development: A critical perspective," wp.comunite 0031, Department of Communication, University of Teramo. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  21. 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!]
  22. Fabio, Sabatini, 2005. "The empirics of social capital and economic development: a critical perspective," MPRA Paper 2366, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Mar 2007. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  23. Jonathan Isham, 2002. "The Effect of Social Capital on Fertiliser Adoption: Evidence from Rural Tanzania," Journal of African Economies, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 39-60, March.
    Other versions:
  24. Paul F. Whiteley, 2000. "Economic Growth and Social Capital," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 48(3), pages 443-466, 06. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  25. Antoci, Angelo & Sacco, Pier Luigi & Vanin, Paolo, 2008. "Participation, growth and social poverty: social capital in a homogeneous society," MPRA Paper 13661, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  26. Fox, Jonathan, 1996. "How does civil society thicken? the political construction of social capital in rural Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 1089-1103, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  27. Beugelsdijk, Sjoerd & van Schaik, Ton, 2005. "Social capital and growth in European regions: an empirical test," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 301-324, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Use the JEL tree to browse through the database by subfields.

This page was last updated on 2009-12-30.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.