The Economic Approach to Social Capital

Edward L. Glaeser, David Laibson and Bruce Sacerdote

No 1916, Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers from Harvard - Institute of Economic Research

Abstract: To identify the determinants of social capital formation, it is necessary to understand the social capital investment decision of individuals. Individual social capital should then be aggregated to measure the social capital of a community. This paper assembles the evidence that supports the individual-based model of social capital formation, including seven facts: (l) the relationship between social capital and age is first increasing and then decreasing, (2) social capital declines with expected mobility, (3) social capital investment is higher in occupations with greater returns to social skills, (4) social capital is higher among homeowners, (5) social connections fall sharply with physical distance, (6) people who invest in human capital also invest in social capital, and (7) social capital appears to have interpersonal complementarities.

Date: 2001
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Related works:
Journal Article: An Economic Approach to Social Capital (2002)
Working Paper: The Economic Approach to Social Capital (2000)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fth:harver:1916

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