Producing social capital as a development strategy: Implications at the micro-level

 Anastasia A Seferiadis, Sarah Cummings, Marjolein B M Zweekhorst, and Joske F G Bunders

This article considers how social capital can contribute to poverty alleviation at the micro-level, based on an analysis of the documentary evidence provided by theoretical perspectives and empirical studies. Across countries and contexts, micro-credit, agricultural production and marketing, environmental protection and knowledge networking are linked to productiv esocial capital. Four mechanisms to strengthen social capital are identified: structural opportunity to meet, ‘know-how’ of social interaction, sense of belonging and an ethos of mutuality.We envision that opportunities within the development practice exist to foster such mechanisms, and recommend in-depth studies to enhance our understanding of social capital production mechanisms.

URL: http://pdj.sagepub.com/content/15/2/170.full.pdf+html

Courtesy: Sage