IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/anresc/v49y2012i3p821-843.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A multi-dimensional perspective on social capital and economic development: an exploratory analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Soogwan Doh
  • Connie McNeely

Abstract

While various types of capital have been identified and studied as drivers of economic development, recent arguments surrounding social capital in particular have led to calls for greater attention to its role in economic development within a country. Thus, we examine social capital relative to its impact on economic development at the country level. We employ a generalized social capital index (based on measures of trust, associational activities, and civic norms) to test hypotheses suggesting a positive relationship between social capital and economic development, while also considering the impact of social capital on entrepreneurship and on human capital as intermediary effects on economic development. In general, we examine the relationship between core constructs of social capital and economic development within and across 47 selected countries. Findings reveal strong support for the hypothesized relationships, with important implications for policy direction and future research. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Soogwan Doh & Connie McNeely, 2012. "A multi-dimensional perspective on social capital and economic development: an exploratory analysis," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 49(3), pages 821-843, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:49:y:2012:i:3:p:821-843
    DOI: 10.1007/s00168-011-0449-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s00168-011-0449-1
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00168-011-0449-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-1037, October.
    2. Nijkamp, Peter & Poot, Jacques, 1993. "Endogenous Technological Change, Innovation Diffusion and Transitional Dynamics in a Nonlinear Growth Model," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(61), pages 191-213, December.
    3. Acs, Zoltan J. & Szerb, László, 2009. "The Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEINDEX)," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 5(5), pages 341-435, August.
    4. Stephen Knack & Philip Keefer, 1997. "Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1251-1288.
    5. Hans Westlund & Frane Adam, 2009. "Social Capital and Economic Performance: A Meta-analysis of 65 Studies," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(6), pages 893-919, November.
    6. Bjørnskov, Christian & Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard, 2003. "Measuring social capital – Is there a single underlying explanation?," Working Papers 03-5, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
    7. Paul F. Whiteley, 2000. "Economic Growth and Social Capital," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 48(3), pages 443-466, June.
    8. 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.
    9. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Ton Van Schaik, 2005. "Differences in social capital between 54 Western European regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(8), pages 1053-1064.
    10. Jaffe, Adam B, 1989. "Real Effects of Academic Research," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(5), pages 957-970, December.
    11. Aghion, Philippe & Howitt, Peter, 1992. "A Model of Growth through Creative Destruction," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(2), pages 323-351, March.
    12. 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.
    13. Robert J. Stimson & Roger R. Stough & Brian H. Roberts, 2006. "Regional Economic Development," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-3-540-34829-0, September.
    14. Guido Tabellini, 2010. "Culture and Institutions: Economic Development in the Regions of Europe," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 677-716, June.
    15. Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt, 2002. "Wage Inequality and the New Economy," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 18(3), pages 306-323.
    16. Dave Mare, 2004. "What Do Endogenous Growth Models Contribute?," Development and Comp Systems 0412002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Soogwan Doh & Zoltán J. Ács, 2015. "Innovation and Social Capital: A Cross-Country Investigation," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 23, pages 442-463, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Black, Sandra E & Lynch, Lisa M, 1996. "Human-Capital Investments and Productivity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 263-267, May.
    19. Hans Westlund, 2006. "Social Capital in the Knowledge Economy," Advances in Spatial Science, Springer, number 978-3-540-35366-9, Fall.
    20. Keld Laursen & Francesca Masciarelli & Andrea Prencipe, 2007. "Regions Matter How Regional Characteristics Affect External Knowledge Acquisition and Innovation," DRUID Working Papers 07-20, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    21. Ciccone, Antonio & Hall, Robert E, 1996. "Productivity and the Density of Economic Activity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(1), pages 54-70, March.
    22. 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.
    23. Paul Almeida & Bruce Kogut, 1999. "Localization of Knowledge and the Mobility of Engineers in Regional Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(7), pages 905-917, July.
    24. Maskell, Peter & Malmberg, Anders, 1999. "Localised Learning and Industrial Competitiveness," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 23(2), pages 167-185, March.
    25. William J. Baumol, 2004. "Entrepreneurial Enterprises, Large Established Firms and Other Components of the Free-Market Growth Machine," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 9-21, August.
    26. Mourad Dakhli & Dirk De Clercq, 2004. "Human capital, social capital, and innovation: a multi-country study," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 107-128, March.
    27. Zoltan Acs, 2006. "How Is Entrepreneurship Good for Economic Growth?," Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, MIT Press, vol. 1(1), pages 97-107, March.
    28. Michael Fritsch, 2004. "Cooperation and the efficiency of regional R&D activities," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 28(6), pages 829-846, November.
    29. Scott Shane, 2000. "Prior Knowledge and the Discovery of Entrepreneurial Opportunities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 448-469, August.
    30. Steven N. Durlauf, 2002. "On the Empirics of Social Capital," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(483), pages 459-479, November.
    31. Gary S. Becker, 1975. "Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education, Second Edition," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck75-1, March.
    32. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Henri L.F. de Groot & Anton B.T.M. van Schaik, 2004. "Trust and economic growth: a robustness analysis," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 118-134, January.
    33. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    34. Zoltan Acs, 2008. "How is Entrepreneurship Good for Economic Growth?," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 21, pages 291-301, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    35. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman, 1994. "Endogenous Innovation in the Theory of Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 23-44, Winter.
    36. David Audretsch & Max Keilbach, 2004. "Entrepreneurship Capital and Economic Performance," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(8), pages 949-959.
    37. Aurora A. C. Teixeira & Natércia Fortuna, 2004. "Human capital, innovation capability and economic growth in Portugal, 1960-2001," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 3(3), pages 205-225, December.
    38. Israel M. Kirzner, 1997. "Entrepreneurial Discovery and the Competitive Market Process: An Austrian Approach," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 60-85, March.
    39. Aurora Teixeira & Natércia Fortuna, 2003. "Human Capital, Innovation Capability and Economic Growth," FEP Working Papers 131, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    40. Bengt-ake Lundvall & Bjorn Johnson, 1994. "The Learning Economy," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(2), pages 23-42.
    41. Olav Sorenson, 2005. "Social networks and industrial geography," Springer Books, in: Uwe Cantner & Elias Dinopoulos & Robert F. Lanzillotti (ed.), Entrepreneurships, the New Economy and Public Policy, pages 55-69, Springer.
    42. Wim MOESEN & Tom VAN PUYENBROECK & Laurens CHERCHYE, 2000. "Trust as Societal Capital: Economic Growth in European Regions," Working Papers of Department of Economics, Leuven ces0001, KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), Department of Economics, Leuven.
    43. David B. Audretsch & Roy Thurik, 2001. "Linking Entrepreneurship to Growth," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2001/2, OECD Publishing.
    44. Audretsch, David B. & Keilbach, Max C. & Lehmann, Erik E., 2006. "Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195183511.
    45. Gaute Torsvik, 2000. "Social Capital And Economic Development," Rationality and Society, , vol. 12(4), pages 451-476, November.
    46. Edward L. Glaeser & Charles Redlick, 2008. "Social Capital and Urban Growth," NBER Working Papers 14374, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    47. Audretsch, David & Braunerhjelm, Pontus & Acs, Zoltán J & Carlsson, Bo, 2004. "The Missing Link: The Knowledge Filter and Entrepreneurship in Endogenous Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 4783, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ümit İzmen & Yeşim Üçdoğruk Gürel, 2023. "The importance of linking social capital in unequal and fragmented societies: an analysis of perceived economic well-being in Turkish rural and urban households," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 70(3), pages 799-817, June.
    2. Carmen GUZMAN & Francisco J. SANTOS & María de la O BARROSO, 2020. "Cooperative Essence And Entrepreneurial Quality: A Comparative Contextual Analysis," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(1), pages 95-118, March.
    3. İ. Semih Akçomak & Hanna Müller-Zick, 2018. "Trust and inventive activity in Europe: causal, spatial and nonlinear forces," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 60(3), pages 529-568, May.
    4. Mingsong Hao & Chuntian Lu & Xi Zhou & Jing Xu, 2023. "How Agricultural Farmers Respond to Risks during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploration through the Dual Social Capitals Approach," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-18, February.
    5. Inmaculada Buendía-Martínez & Inmaculada Carrasco Monteagudo, 2020. "The Role of CSR on Social Entrepreneurship: An International Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-22, August.
    6. Trent A. Engbers & Michael F. Thompson & Timothy F. Slaper, 2017. "Theory and Measurement in Social Capital Research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 537-558, June.
    7. Xindong Xue & W. Robert Reed & Robbie C.M. van Aert, 2022. "Social Capital and Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis," Working Papers in Economics 22/20, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
    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.
    9. Soogwan Doh, 2020. "Social Entrepreneurship and Regional Economic Development: The Case of Social Enterprise in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    10. Balli Faruk & Pierucci Eleonora, 2020. "Risk Sharing and Institutional Quality: Evidence from OECD and Emerging Economies," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 67(1), pages 53-71, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Soogwan Doh & Edmund J. Zolnik, 2012. "Social capital and entrepreneurship: an empirical analysis of the role of social capital in self-employment," Chapters, in: Charlie Karlsson & Börje Johansson & Roger R. Stough (ed.), Entrepreneurship, Social Capital and Governance, chapter 7, pages 160-191, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. 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.
    3. Doh, Soogwan & Kim, Byungkyu, 2014. "Government support for SME innovations in the regional industries: The case of government financial support program in South Korea," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(9), pages 1557-1569.
    4. Oasis Kodila-Tedika & Julius Agbor, 2016. "Does Trust Matter for Entrepreneurship: Evidence from a Cross-Section of Countries," Economies, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Zoltán J. Ács & Pontus Braunerhjelm & David B. Audretsch & Bo Carlsson, 2015. "The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 7, pages 129-144, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Soogwan Doh, 2020. "Social Entrepreneurship and Regional Economic Development: The Case of Social Enterprise in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    7. Forte, Anabel & Peiró-Palomino, Jesús & Tortosa-Ausina, Emili, 2015. "Does social capital matter for European regional growth?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 47-64.
    8. Karlsson, Charlie & Rouchy, Philippe, 2015. "Regional Economic Development, Social Capital and Governance: A Comparative Institutional Analysis France - Sweden," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 406, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    9. Judit Kapas, 2017. "How Cultural Values Affect Economic Growth: A Critical Assessment Of The Literature," Economic Thought and Practice, Department of Economics and Business, University of Dubrovnik, vol. 26(1), pages 265-285, june.
    10. Erik E. Lehmann & Nikolaus Seitz, 2017. "Freedom and innovation: a country and state level analysis," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(5), pages 1009-1029, October.
    11. Niccolò Ghio & Massimiliano Guerini & Erik Lehmann & Cristina Rossi-Lamastra, 2015. "The emergence of the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 1-18, January.
    12. Peiró-Palomino, Jesús & Tortosa-Ausina, Emili, 2013. "Can trust effects on development be generalized? A response by quantile," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 377-390.
    13. İ. Semih Akçomak & Hanna Müller-Zick, 2018. "Trust and inventive activity in Europe: causal, spatial and nonlinear forces," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 60(3), pages 529-568, May.
    14. Robert Huggins & Piers Thompson, 2015. "Entrepreneurship, innovation and regional growth: a network theory," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 103-128, June.
    15. Akcomak, Semih & Ter Weel, Bas, 2007. "How do social capital and government support affect innovation and growth? Evidence from the EU regional support programmes," MERIT Working Papers 2007-009, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    16. Kostakis, Ioannis & Lolos, Sarantis & Doulgeraki, Charikleia, 2020. "Cultural Heritage led Growth: Regional evidence from Greece (1998-2016)," MPRA Paper 98443, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Braunerhjelm, Pontus, 2010. "Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth - past experience, current knowledge and policy implications," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 224, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    18. Semih Akçomak & Hanna Müller-Zick, 2013. "Trust and Innovation in Europe: Causal, spatial and non-linear forces," STPS Working Papers 1304, STPS - Science and Technology Policy Studies Center, Middle East Technical University, revised Dec 2013.
    19. Jesús Peiró-Palomino, 2016. "Social Capital and Economic Growth in Europe: Nonlinear Trends and Heterogeneous Regional Effects," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 78(5), pages 717-751, October.
    20. Marco Vivarelli, 2013. "Is entrepreneurship necessarily good? Microeconomic evidence from developed and developing countries," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 22(6), pages 1453-1495, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    D71; O1; O47; E24; L26; O3;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:49:y:2012:i:3:p:821-843. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.