Measuring Social Capital : An Integrated Questionnaire
TL;DR: The Integrated Questionnaire for the Measurement of Social Capital (SC-IQ) as discussed by the authors is a set of empirical tools for measuring social capital with a focus on applications in developing countries.
Abstract: The idea of social capital has enjoyed a remarkable rise to prominence in both the theoretical and applied social science literature over the last decade. While lively debate has accompanied that journey, thereby helping to advance our thinking and to clarify areas of agreement and disagreement, much still remains to be done. One approach that we hope can help bring further advances for both scholars and practitioners is the provision of a set of empirical tools for measuring social capital. The purpose of this paper is to introduce such a tool-the Integrated Questionnaire for the Measurement of Social Capital (SC-IQ)-with a focus on applications in developing countries. The tool aims to generate quantitative data on various dimensions of social capital as part of a larger household survey (such as the Living Standards Measurement Survey or a household income/expenditure survey). Specifically, six dimensions are considered: groups and networks; trust and solidarity; collective action and cooperation; information and communication; social cohesion and inclusion; empowerment and political action. The paper addresses sampling and data collection issues for implementing the SC-IQ and provides guidance for the use and analysis of data. The tool has been pilot-tested in Albania and Nigeria and a review of lessons learned is presented.
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Journal Article•
3,713 citations
01 Dec 2006
TL;DR: The study holds that the facets of social capital -- social interaction ties, trust, norm of reciprocity, identification, shared vision and shared language -- will influence individuals' knowledge sharing in virtual communities.
Abstract: The biggest challenge in fostering a virtual community is the supply of knowledge, namely the willingness to snare Knowledge with other members. This paper integrates the Social Cognitive Theory and the Social Capital Theory to construct a model for investigating the motivations behind people's knowledge sharing in virtual communities. The study holds that the facets of social capital -- social interaction ties, trust, norm of reciprocity, identification, shared vision and shared language -- will influence individuals' knowledge sharing in virtual communities. We also argue that outcome expectations -- community-related outcome expectations and personal outcome expectations -- can engender knowledge sharing in virtual communities. Data collected from 310 members of one professional virtual community provide support for the proposed model. The results help in identifying the motivation underlying individuals' knowledge sharing behavior in professional virtual communities. The implications for theory and practice and future research directions are discussed.
2,887 citations
Cites methods from "Measuring Social Capital : An Integ..."
...Identification was assessed with items adapted to reflect an individual's sense of belonging, feeling of togetherness, and positive feeling toward the virtual community, following prior studies [7,35,55]....
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TL;DR: It is argued that this framework helps to reconcile three perspectives on the efficacy of social capital, incorporating a broader reading of history, politics, and the empirical evidence regarding the mechanisms connecting types of network structure and state-society relations to public health outcomes.
Abstract: Three perspectives on the efficacy of social capital have been explored in the public health literature. A "social support" perspective argues that informal networks are central to objective and subjective welfare; an "inequality" thesis posits that widening economic disparities have eroded citizens' sense of social justice and inclusion, which in turn has led to heightened anxiety and compromised rising life expectancies; a "political economy" approach sees the primary determinant of poor health outcomes as the socially and politically mediated exclusion from material resources. A more comprehensive but grounded theory of social capital is presented that develops a distinction between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. It is argued that this framework helps to reconcile these three perspectives, incorporating a broader reading of history, politics, and the empirical evidence regarding the mechanisms connecting types of network structure and state-society relations to public health outcomes.
1,859 citations
01 Jan 2005
1,814 citations
TL;DR: This paper measured the sets of adaptive capacities for economic development and social capital in the Norris et al. (2008) community resilience model with publicly accessible population indicators, and combined the indicators into composites of Economic Development and Social Capital and an additive index of community resilience using Mississippi county data, and validated these against a well-established index of social vulnerability and aggregated survey data on collective efficacy.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to measure the sets of adaptive capacities for Economic Development and Social Capital in the Norris et al. (2008) community resilience model with publicly accessible population indicators. Our approach involved five steps. First, we conducted a literature review on measurements of the capacities. Second, we created an exhaustive “wish list” of relevant measures that operationalized the concepts presented in the literature. Third, we identified data sources and searched for archival, population-level data that matched our indicators. Fourth, we systematically tested correlations of indicators within and across the theoretical elements and used this information to select a parsimonious group of indicators. Fifth, we combined the indicators into composites of Economic Development and Social Capital and an additive index of Community Resilience using Mississippi county data, and validated these against a well-established index of social vulnerability and aggregated survey data on collective efficacy. We found that our measure of community resilience capacities correlated favorably and as expected when validated with the archival and survey data. This study provides the first step in identifying existing capacities that may predict a community’s ability to “bounce back” from disasters, thereby reducing post-trauma health and mental health problems.
600 citations
Cites methods from "Measuring Social Capital : An Integ..."
...Several measurements of social capital use an aggregate measurement derived from survey data (Grootaert et al. 2004; Kawachi et al. 1997; Krishna and Shrader 2002; Putnam 2000)....
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References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the concept of social capital is introduced and illustrated, its forms are described, the social structural conditions under which it arises are examined, and it is used in an analys...
Abstract: In this paper, the concept of social capital is introduced and illustrated, its forms are described, the social structural conditions under which it arises are examined, and it is used in an analys...
31,693 citations
"Measuring Social Capital : An Integ..." refers background in this paper
...Coleman (1988) first made this observation about the role of social capital in the acquisition of human capital in the context of U.S. high schools, and it has proved valid in many other countries as well....
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Book•
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: Fukuyama as discussed by the authors argued that the end of the Cold War would also mean the beginning of a struggle for position in the rapidly emerging order of 21st-century capitalism and argued that in an era when social capital may be as important as physical capital, only those societies with a high degree of social trust will be able to create the flexible, large scale business organizations that are needed to compete in the new global economy.
Abstract: In his bestselling "The End of History and the Last Man", Francis Fukuyama argued that the end of the Cold War would also mean the beginning of a struggle for position in the rapidly emerging order of 21st-century capitalism. In "Trust", a penetrating assessment of the emerging global economic order "after History", he explains the social principles of economic life and tells us what we need to know to win the coming struggle for world dominance. Challenging orthodoxies of both the left and right, Fukuyama examines a wide range of national cultures in order to divine the underlying principles that foster social and economic prosperity. Insisting that we cannot divorce economic life from cultural life, he contends that in an era when social capital may be as important as physical capital, only those societies with a high degree of social trust will be able to create the flexible, large-scale business organizations that are needed to compete in the new global economy. A brilliant study of the interconnectedness of economic life with cultural life, "Trust" is also an essential antidote to the increasing drift of American culture into extreme forms of individualism, which, if unchecked, will have dire consequences for the nation's economic health.
7,506 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse the notion of capital social and souligne that cette notion caracterise un reseau de relations sociales jouissant d'une certaine autonomie and d'un relatif enracinement dans la vie sociale.
Abstract: L'A. etudie le lien entre capital social et developpement economique. Il analyse la notion de capital social et souligne que cette notion caracterise un reseau de relations sociales jouissant d'une certaine autonomie et d'un relatif enracinement dans la vie sociale. Il examine la place du capital social dans le cadre des politiques de developpement economique et met en lumiere un certain nombre de contraintes et de possibilites inherentes aux dilemmes propres aux strategies de developpement «bas-haut» et «haut-bas». Il envisage de facon critique les theories et les politiques concues en matiere de developpement
4,843 citations
"Measuring Social Capital : An Integ..." refers background in this paper
...…different forms of social capital, like human capital, can be used for purposes that hinder rather than help an individual’s welfare (Portes 1998, Woolcock 1998)—for example, when group membership norms confer obligations to share rather than accumulate wealth, or deny members access to…...
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...The distinction between (a) and (b) is sometimes referred to as, respectively, ‘structural’ and ‘cognitive’ social capital (e.g., Krishna and Uphoff, 2002)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors trace the evolution of social capital research as it pertains to economic development and identify four distinct approaches the research has taken : communitarian, networks, institutional, and synergy.
Abstract: In the 1990s the concept of social capital defined here as the norms and networks that enable people to act collectively enjoyed a remarkable rise to prominence across all the social science disciplines. The authors trace the evolution of social capital research as it pertains to economic development and identify four distinct approaches the research has taken : communitarian, networks, institutional, and synergy. The evidence suggests that of the four, the synergy view, with its emphasis on incorporating different levels and dimensions of social capital and its recognition of the positive and negative outcomes that social capital can generate, has the greatest empirical support and lends itself best to comprehensive and coherent policy prescriptions. The authors argue that a significant virtue of the idea of and discourse on social capital is that it helps to bridge orthodox divides among scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
4,094 citations
"Measuring Social Capital : An Integ..." refers background in this paper
...Woolcock and Narayan (2000) discuss four broad perspectives connecting social capital to development outcomes; the dual distinction posed here refers to the core definitions as applied across a range of substantive fields....
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Journal Article•
3,713 citations
"Measuring Social Capital : An Integ..." refers background in this paper
...We also recognize that social capital has been conceived and measured at different units of analysis, from individuals (Glaeser, Laibson and Sacerdote, 2002, Collier 2002) and households through to regions and entire societies (Fukuyama 1995)....
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...The distinction between (a) and (b) is sometimes referred to as, respectively, ‘structural’ and ‘cognitive’ social capital (e.g., Krishna and Uphoff, 2002)....
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