Social Capital Initiative Working Papers

A growing body of evidence indicates that the size and density of social networks and institutions, and the nature of interpersonal interactions, significantly affect the efficiency and sustainability of development programs. Yet the exact channels through which social capital impacts developmental outcomes have only begun to be explored, and the lessons to be drawn from these observations for program design and implementation remain to be formulated.

To help advance the theoretical understanding and the practical relevance of this concept, the Government of Denmark provided the World Bank with resources of about US $1.0 million to support operations which promote and strengthen social capital, and to develop indicators and methodologies to learn from this experience. Started in October 1996 and located in the Social Development Department of the World Bank, this Social Capital Initiative (SCI) includes 12 original research projects, a conceptual framework, literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, and associated activities.

The Social Capital Initiative was started in October 1996 with a triple goal:

1. to assess the impact of social capital on project effectiveness;
   
   
2. to demonstrate that outside assistance can help in the process of social capital formation;
   
   
3. and to contribute to the development of indicators for monitoring social capital and methodologies for measuring its impact on development.

To achieve this multiple goal, the SCI team (located in SDV) solicited project proposals from task managers within the Bank. Forty proposals were received and reviewed by a Steering Committee between December 1996 and April 1997. Twelve proposals were selected for funding on the basis of their perceived ability to test two central hypotheses:

The presence of social capital improves the effectiveness of development projects; and
Through select donor-supported interventions, it is possible to stimulate the accumulation of social capital.

These hypotheses were broadly formulated so as to make possible a wide array of interventions and monitoring methodologies. In addition, since one of the goals of the project is to encourage different approaches to the measurement and monitoring of social capital, innovation in methodology was a prime consideration for project selection, as was the ability to obtain results within a two-year time horizon.

The studies that constitute the empirical center of the Social Capital Initiative have been classified in four categories, among which there is some degree of overlap. They examine, using a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative methods, the role that social capital can play in the provision of goods and services, the reconstruction or revitalization of social capital after conflict or political transition, rural development efforts, and enterprise development.

• Understanding and Measuring Social Capital: A Synthesis of Findings and Recommendation from the Social Capital Initiative, SCIWP 24, February 28, 2001 (120Kb PDF)
  
  
• Cross-cultural Measures of Social Capital: A Tool and Results from India and Panama, SCIWP 21, October 2000 (456Kb PDF)
  
  
• Social Capital and Rural Development: A Discussion of Issues, SCIWP 10, October 2000 (105Kb PDF)
  
  
• The Nexus between Violent Conflict, Social Capital and Social Cohesion: Case Studies from Cambodia and Rwanda, SCIWP 23, September 30, 2000 (166Kb PDF)
  
  
• Understanding Social Capital. Agricultural Extension in Mali: Trust and Social Cohesion, SCIWP 22, June 2000 (96Kb PDF)
  
  
• Does Development Assistance Help Build Social Capital?, SCIWP 20, March 2000 (128Kb PDF)
  
  
• Exploring the Concept of Social Capital and its Relevance for Community-based Development: The Case of Coal Mining Areas in Orissa India, SCIWP 18, March 2000 (617Kb PDF)
  
  
• Induced Social Capital and Federations of the Rural Poor, SCIWP 19, March 2000 (357Kb PDF)
  
  
• What Does Social Capital Add to Individual Welfare, SCIWP 15, October 1999 (115Kb PDF)
  
  
• Ethnicity, Capital Formation, and Conflict, SCIWP 12, September 30, 1999 (199Kb PDF)
  
  
• Social Capital and the Firm: Evidence from Agricultural Trade, SCIWP 17, September 1999 (156Kb PDF)
  
  
• Social Capital in Solid Waste Management: Evidence from Daka, Bangladesh, SCIWP 16 , September 1999 (122Kb PDF)
  
  
• What Determines the Effectiveness of Community-Based Water Projects?Evidence from Central Java, Indonesia on Demand Responsiveness, Service Rules, and Social Capital, September 1999, SCIWP 14, September 1999 (182Kb PDF) 
  
  
• Mapping and Measuring Social Capital: A Conceptual and Empirical Study of Collective Action for Conserving and Developing Watersheds in Rajasthan, India, SCIWP 13, June 30, 1999 (199Kb PDF)
  
  
• Does Social Capital Facilitate the Poor's Access to Credit?A Review of the Microeconomic Literature, SCIWP 8, May 1999 (101Kb PDF)
  
  
• Does Social Capital Matter in Water and Sanitation Delivery?, A Review of Literature, SCIWP 9, May 1999 (111Kb PDF)
  
  
• Is Social Capital an Effective Smoke Condenser?: An Essay on a Concept Linking the Social Sciences, SCIWP 11, May 1999 (147Kb PDF)
  
  
• Social Capital, Growth and Poverty: A Survey and Extensions, SCIWP 7, May 1999 (164Kb PDF)
  
  
• Social Capital: Conceptual Frameworks and Empirical Evidence, An Annotated Bibliography, SCIWP 5, January 1999 (152Kb PDF)
  
  
• Social Capital and Poverty, SCIWP 4, December 1998 (98Kb PDF)
  
  
• Getting Things Done in an Anti-Modern Society: Social Capital Networks in Russia, SCIWP 6, November 1998 (102Kb PDF)
  
  
• Social Capital: The Missing Link?, SCIWP 3, April 1998 (93Kb PDF)
  
  
• The Initiative on Defining, Monitoring and Measuring Social Capital: Overview and Program Description, SCIWP 1, April 1998 (107Kb PDF)
  
  
• The Initiative on Defining, Monitoring and Measuring Social Capital: Text of Proposals Approved for Funding, SCIWP 2, June 1988