Social Capital and Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis

This research provides a comprehensive, quantitative synthesis of the empirical literature on social capital and economic growth. It assesses 957 estimates from 83 studies. Utilizing a variety of estimation procedures, we draw the following conclusions: There is strong evidence to indicate that publication bias distorts the empirical literature, causing estimates of social capital's effects to be overstated. Initial, unadjusted estimates of the overall, mean effect of social capital on economic growth are positive, small to moderately sized, and consistently statistically significant. Correcting for publication bias reduces these estimates by half or more. Our preferred estimates indicate that the average effect of social capital on economic growth is statistically insignificant and very small. However, the meta-analysis identifies a large amount of heterogeneity, indicating that social capital may have substantive effects in particular circumstances. Further investigation of moderating effects find them consistent with expectations, though they are too small to explain the heterogeneity in estimates. Analysis of different kinds of social capital finds little evidence of disparate effects on growth.