Social Capital Formation Through a Polish LETS: Challenging the Presumed Merits of Local Currencies

Beata Łopaciuk-Gonczaryk

Ecological Economics, 2019, vol. 158, issue C, 75-87

Abstract: The study examines the mechanisms of social capital formation in a Polish local exchange trading system to determine whether the interpersonal interactions connected with transactions influence the cooperative attitudes and behaviors of system members. The stochastic actor-oriented model for the coevolution of social network and individual behavior is utilized. Simultaneously analyzing the dynamics of the network of social ties associated with transactions and the change in a proxy for cooperative behavior does not provide evidence for the spreading of cooperative attitudes. Neither exposure to good-example providers nor the high activity of members in the system enhances their cooperative behavior. On the contrary, network formation is conditioned by the cooperative attitudes of its members.

Keywords: Grassroots organisations; Cooperation; Sharing Economy; Social Influence; Social Network Analysis; RSIENA Model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:158:y:2019:i:c:p:75-87

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.12.004

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