The Concept of Social Capital

Abstract

Social capital is a concept that has only recently been incorporated into the social sciences. Two decades ago there were hardly any references to this unusual form of capital, although some almost archeological research has dated the first appearance of the concept to a book written in 1916 by the American reformist L. J. Hanifan (Putnam, 2000: 19).¹ The last 20 years, however, have witnessed a boom in studies of social capital. Economists, sociologists, and especially, political scientists, have embraced the concept enthusiastically. The result is a dense body of literature that uses social capital as an independent variable to explain a series of phenomena ranging from the creation of human capital and the effectiveness of democratic institutions to the reduction of crime or the eradication of poverty.