Comparing measures of social capital using data from Southeast Asian slums

The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1997

This paper presents evidence that "social capital" matters for measurable economic performance, using indicators of trust and civic norms from the World Values Surveys for a sample of 29 market economies. Memberships in formal groups-Putnam's measure of social capital-is not associated with trust or with improved economic performance. We find trust and civic norms are stronger in nations with higher and more equal incomes, with institutions that restrain predatory actions of chief executives, and with better-educated and ethnically homogeneous populations.

Article, 2021

This article investigates the configuration of social capital in Vietnam by focusing on social networks and social trust, the two key dimensions of social capital. Particularly, the study examines the change of these two dimensions over time. To achieve these aims, the study employs data of Vietnam from waves 5 and 7 of the World Values Survey (WVS), the largest social survey in the world, for the analyses. Quantitative analyses reveal that Vietnam is characterized by a high level of bonding social capital, in which the Vietnamese tend to place a high level of trust in a small circle of known people and have frequent contact with those close to them. Furthermore, the results reveal a decline in membership in mobilized groups (associations directly controlled by the state) and less-mobilized groups (associations relatively autonomous in their activities), corresponding to an increase in membership in separate groups (associations with highly autonomous activities). The study also reveals that while the participation in mobilized groups has a positive impact on social trust, the engagement in less-mobilized and separate groups increases distrust in others. It suggests that in Vietnam, associational participation does not necessarily foster trust as occurs in western societies.

2016

Summary. This paper conducts a comparative analysis of social capital and environmental management in two rapidly growing regions in south-east Asia, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. Theoretical and empirical triangulation are used to clarify the nature of social capital and the ways that gender, in particular, affects trust and co-operation. Theoretical triangulation is accomplished by drawing on conceptual arguments made in economics, geography and urban planning to develop a theoretical framework explaining social capital and environmental man-agement in south-east Asia. Empirical triangulation is accomplished through a multimethod analytical approach, including survey methods and experimental games conducted with the same populations. The results of the comparative analysis among squatter residents in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City are presented with a focus on gender differences in trust and co-operation and the paper concludes with a summary of the results and recommendations for p...

BRILL eBooks, 2003

Urban Studies, 2018

'Neighbourhood cooperation' can be viewed as a key element for livelihood improvement, particularly within areas of urban poverty in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Such cooperation might be useful for mobilising resources and sharing risks of investing in infrastructures/services and maintaining common goods. This article explores the structural relationships between individual level cooperation and overall social capital, in relation to household and neighbourhood characteristics. These relationships are complex as various factors are interlinked, which influence cooperation at both individual and group levels. Literature on social capital has relied mainly on Western countries; from this starting point, this article analyses the relationships among aspects of social capital. Analytical models are based on Durlauf's approach of measuring 'social capital' and Manski's perspective on social interaction, which are tested on 1800 households' data across three locations in Bangladesh. The estimates reveal that individual level cooperation can be influenced directly by households' socio economic circumstances and indirectly through neighbourhood mediation, while questioning some theoretical generalisations about neighbourhood cooperation. The findings contribute to the literature on neighbourhood effects by revealing that: (a) the relationship between one's socio economic status and one's social capital is less clear than expected; and (b) extreme poverty and proximity of living in a neighbourhood can promote norms of trust and cooperation.

International Development Planning Review, 2005

The notion of communities as rational actors is, obviously, a simplification and aggregation across households in the same neighbourhood for the purposes of analysis and discussion. Most communities are quite heterogeneous and diverse. Households within a community do not necessarily share common aspirations, values or ways of life. At its core, social capital research assumes that all communities may contribute to superior governance given enhanced social connections, trust and reciprocity. While researchers and policy makers have looked to social capital as a solution to varying local governance challenges, there still remain significant questions about how social capital may be translated into concrete outcomes. This paper focuses on the relationship between social networks and community connections in urban environments in Southeast Asia to examine whether communities with strong social capital are more able to participate in projects designed to improve environmental management in two of the region's most polluted cities, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, especially in marginalised and low-income neighbourhoods. A comparative analysis of household survey data focuses on the relationship between income and community participation and develops an index comprised of different dimensions of social capital. The findings imply that there may be more possibility for residents to use and make available communal resources for environmental improvements where social integration and social capital linkages combine with some minimum socioeconomic status. If this is true, then an obvious role for planners and policy makers would be to think creatively about how to motivate and facilitate community action, e.g. through education, seed projects and opportunities to work with NGOs and government agencies to create tangible change within cities. Communities have long been seen as both spaces where problems exist and as dynamic actors in resolving and addressing complex and varied issues. Though communities have been seen by researchers, policy makers and international donors as important stakeholders in problem solving, and even as collective actors, the rapidly proliferating literature on social capital has given a boost to the notion that communities as dynamic actors are critical contributors to effective governance.  IDPR27_1_03_Daniere 24/3/05, 11:19 am

2010

Previous literature suggests positive relationships between social capital, pro-social behavior and subsequent economic development. We analyze the relationship between social networks and trust (two measures of social capital) and self-reported charitable contributions of time and/or money (pro-social behavior) using data collected from two ethnically distinct, low-income neighborhoods. We find that large social networks are positively related to charitable contributions, but that the effects of trust are less robust. We also find that social networks that are more geographically dispersed tend to be larger. Our results indicate that the social capital in a neighborhood is more important than ethnicity, ethnic diversity, or other demographic information in understanding public goods contributions. 1 Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Cathleen Johnson, Catherine Eckel, Wayra Rodriguez, Natalia Candelo, and the CBEES staff for assistance with the design and implementation of this project. We would also like to thank the John D. and Catehrine T.

2021

This study empirically examines how social capital a ects household income in rural Vietnam using the VARHS 2012-2014 surveys. We operationalized four forms of social capital, which are formal social networks, informal social networks, government connection, and general trust. We illustrate that social capital is abundant and has positive impacts on household income in rural Vietnam. Among many dimensions of social capital, political and governmental connectivity is fundamentally essential for improving household income. Approaching governmental organizations through the friend network is much more e ective than the relative network or family member network. This study provides evidence that informal network is also important. Connecting to the community through the participation of wedding ceremonies increases spiritual well-being and works as a type of social capital to increase household income. Surprisingly, we nd no positive impact of general trust and other massive organizations, which are often claimed to be necessary, such as the Farmer Association or the Women Association.

Through testing in the field, the authors optimized the position generator method for application in a Philippine slum and they were able to administer the whole measurement instrument without major difficulties to all available adults in a selected Philippine slum community. Also, the authors inductively derived two subscales for measurement of identified domains in the social capital data and examined their relation to the respondents’ type of access to potable water.

This paper presents new evidence on the individual and community specific determinants of social trust using data from 96 villages in Bangladesh, a country with high levels of institutional corruption and poor governance. We find perceived institutional trust to be positively correlated with inter-personal trust. At the same time, there is significant social distance amongst various faith groups in our data: Hindus (religious minorities) trust Muslims and other non-Hindus more than Muslims trust Hindus and other non-Muslims. We also find no evidence that Hindus are distrustful of the wider society in general. The lack of trust towards Hindus (and other non-Muslims) is significantly correlated with Islamic school attendance amongst Muslim respondents whilst religiosity appears to play no role. These findings are robust to control for a wide range of individual and community level correlates and do not proxy for between religion differences in institutional trust. Lastly, when compared to religion, effects of institutional trust and local economic development (including presence of NGO activity) are modest.

2011

Fundacion BBVA/BBVA Foundation Working Papers, 2008

This working paper presents a new database covering an extensive set of countries from all over the world, compiled by the BBVA Foundation and the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas (Ivie) using the methodology developed in Pérez García et al.(2005). It also updates the database previously presented in the above-mentioned monograph corresponding to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The new database comprises an unbalanced panel of 78 countries for ...

Working Papers, 2003