Does social capital foster renewable energy cooperatives?

Stefan Geskus, Matthijs B Punt, Thomas Bauwens, Rense Corten and Koen Frenken

Journal of Economic Geography, 2024, vol. 24, issue 6, 887-905

Abstract: In recent decades, renewable energy cooperatives have substantially increased their share of renewable energy production. The operation of these cooperatives requires collective action, potentially supported by local social capital. We investigate whether municipal-level bonding and bridging social capital explain the differences in the prevalence of renewable energy cooperatives across Dutch municipalities. We measure social capital directly from social network structures within and between municipalities, thus overcoming limitations of using proxies. Our empirical results reveal that bonding rather than bridging social capital supports renewable energy cooperatives, shedding new light on the role these types of social capital play in regional development.

Keywords: bonding social capital; bridging social capital; community initiatives; technology adoption; social networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F15 J61 N94 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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