The Role of Social Capital in Institutional Change—On the Governance Mechanism of The Chinese Government

Chuhan Guo and Ye Haitao

Journal of Economic Issues, 2025, vol. 59, issue 2, 464-470

Abstract: Social capital encompasses norms, networks of reciprocity, trust, and cooperation, while civil society comprises NGOs, non-profits, and informal groups. However, social capital is often reduced to institutional determinism, which overlooks the influence of elite groups and the dynamic nature of social capital. In practice, social capital regulates policy-making, decentralization, and values, bridging gaps between market and government, central and local, and individual and state. It acts as an intangible asset that connects societal structures and elements, influencing governance and the role of social organizations. Chinese governments at various levels focus on mobilizing social capital to address issues, especially when there is a lack of flexibility at lower levels, creating a “bridge” mechanism. Unlike mainstream economic “economic rationality,” China’s public policy emphasizes “village community rationality” at the local level, shaping a unique national system.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00213624.2025.2493537 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mes:jeciss:v:59:y:2025:i:2:p:464-470

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/MJEI20

DOI: 10.1080/00213624.2025.2493537

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Economic Issues from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().