scholarly journals All for All: Equality, Corruption, and Social Trust

2005 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Rothstein ◽  
Eric M. Uslaner

The importance of social trust has become widely accepted in the social sciences. A number of explanations have been put forward for the stark variation in social trust among countries. Among these, participation in voluntary associations received most attention. Yet there is scant evidence that participation can lead to trust. In this article, the authors examine a variable that has not gotten the attention it deserves in the discussion about the sources of generalized trust, namely, equality. They conceptualize equality along two dimensions: economic equality and equality of opportunity. The omission of both these dimensions of equality in the social capital literature is peculiar for several reasons. First, it is obvious that the countries that score highest on social trust also rank highest on economic equality, namely, the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and Canada. Second, these countries have put a lot of effort in creating equality of opportunity, not least in regard to their policies for public education, health care, labor market opportunities, and (more recently) gender equality. The argument for increasing social trust by reducing inequality has largely been ignored in the policy debates about social trust. Social capital research has to a large extent been used by several governments and policy organizations to send a message to people that the bad things in their society are caused by too little volunteering. The policy implications that follow from the authors' research is that the low levels of trust and social capital that plague many countries are caused by too little government action to reduce inequality. However, many countries with low levels of social trust and social capital may be stuck in what is known as a social trap. The logic of such a situation is the following. Social trust will not increase because massive social inequality prevails, but the public policies that could remedy this situation cannot be established precisely because there is a genuine lack of trust. This lack of trust concerns both “other people” and the government institutions that are needed to implement universal policies.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Abdulelah A. Alghamdi ◽  
Margaret Plunkett

With the increased use of Social Networking Sites and Apps (SNSAs) in Saudi Arabia, it is important to consider the impact of this on the social lives of tertiary students, who are heavy users of such technology. A mixed methods study exploring the effect of SNSAs use on the social capital of Saudi postgraduate students was conducted using a multidimensional construct of social capital, which included the components of life satisfaction, social trust, civic participation, and political engagement. Data were collected through surveys and interviews involving 313 male and 293 female postgraduate students from Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) in Makkah. Findings show that male and female participants perceived SNSAs use impacting all components of social capital at a moderate and mainly positive level. Correlational analysis demonstrated medium to large positive correlations among components of social capital. Gender differences were not evident in the life satisfaction and social trust components; however, females reported more involvement with SNSAs for the purposes of political engagement while males reported more use for civic participation, which is an interesting finding, in light of the norms and traditional culture of Saudi society.


2020 ◽  
pp. 000765032098260
Author(s):  
Jiawen Chen ◽  
Qian Zhang ◽  
Linlin Liu

In emerging countries such as China where the government is gradually withdrawing from involvement in social affairs, firms face dilemmas around relational risks of partnering with different forms of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Affiliated NGOs (those with close relationships with government) are more likely to sabotage the social partnership through misconduct, and are also capable of higher standards of collaborative social performance compared with independent NGOs (those with few such relationships). This study proposes that firms’ political embeddedness helps mitigate relational risks in cross-sector partner selection, and finds that politically connected firms are more likely to partner with affiliated NGOs than with independent NGOs in China. This effect is more pronounced for private firms that are less socially oriented or are located in regions with less-developed formal institutions and social trust. Our findings highlight relational risks relevant to cross-sector partner selection literature and offer important insights into how relational risks can be reduced in cross-sector partner selection in emerging countries.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-219
Author(s):  
Wan Idros Wan Sulaiman ◽  
Maizatul Haizan Mahbob ◽  
Shahrul Nazmi Sannusi

Department of Information of Malaysia is one of the public organizations directly involved in the provision of information to the public. To ensure that all services rendered acceptable, organizational communication in the Department of Information should be given serious consideration so that each activity can be transformed properly. Therefore, this study was undertaken to assess organizational communication in a learning organization in order to see the extent to which employees have a description of social capital and support to the organization of learning activities. The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship that is formed through the social interactions between workers and management by integrating the four aspects of social capital, namely social trust, institutional trust, social norms and networking. For this purpose, a total of 190 respondents from the Information Department headquarters staff in Putrajaya was selected for this study. The study uses questionnaires as research tool and analyses key findings using the Pearson correlation test to examine relationships between various aspects. The study also applied social capital theory as the basis of research framework the when analyzing findings. The results showed that staff describe positive social capital within the organization and consider organizational learning as a strategy to improve the performance of the department in the future.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 404
Author(s):  
Tubagus Arya Abdurachman

The discussion of this research is the development of creative cities in a country is the result of the efforts of the government and creative actors in the city in the country. Creative city can not be separated from the potential of social capital that is owned by the people in the city. Social capital is a social organization concept that includes network of norms and social trusts that facilitate mutual coordination and cooperation including in developing the regional economy. This research aims to (1) know the contribution of social capital in making a creative city, (2) express the social capital and creativity of individuals and communities to realize creative city, and (3) know aspects of social capital that dominant influence on a creativity of the city. The method of this research is qualitative primary data with technic observation and indepth interview, also secondary data in the form of document and archive analysis from Bandung city as one of creative city in Indonesia. Research is done during 2015-2016. Conclusions this research are (1)Social capital that form trust, tolerance, cooperation, openness, and independence of the community greatly contributes in the creation of creative city because through the braided integration of social capital that forms a norm of behavior binding for its citizens to be creative and does not require material capital,(2)Individual urban creativity formed through the process of socialization of elements of social capital in the life of society to trigger creativity of individuals and society as a whole, and (3) The form of openness, tolerance, and cooperation are the dominant elements of social capital in growing the creativity of individuals and societyKeywords: Creatif city, Social capital


2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (4I-II) ◽  
pp. 467-482
Author(s):  
Nuzhat Ahmad ◽  
Mahpara Sadaqa

The research addresses the missing link between social capital and analyses of household welfare and poverty. First the relationship between social capital and household welfare is analysed using a social capital index and a heterogeneity index. The social capital index is calculated using different dimensions: density of membership, attendance at meetings, cash and kind contributions and decision making in local organisations/associations. Heterogeneity index is based on differences in incomes, ethnicity, education and political affiliations in the composition of organisations. Endogeneity of social capital with household expenditure is tested through an Instrumental Variable approach. The relationship between social capital and probability of being poor is analysed through a logit model. The analysis uses data collected form 1050 households in and around the cities of Karachi, Lahore and Quetta. The main results indicate that social capital (however measured) has a positive impact on the welfare of the household. The study concludes that social capital and human capital have the same returns. A powerful result of the research is that households with social capital at their disposal are likely to be less poor and that poverty is less when households share risks though building associations and through collective action. The research has some policy implications which can be useful in building up social capital in the country.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-258
Author(s):  
Herrukmi Septa Rinawati

This study aimed to know the obstacles and the government policy in developing the social capital of small industry in facing competition in ASEAN Economy Community (AEC) period. Using quantitative and qualitative as the methodology, this study obtained the data through interview and focus group discussion. The result showed that the development of social capital that not maximum enough was becoming the obstacle for small industry. The connection between the businessman association with other party, such as big industry, civil society organization, banking and other stake holders should be expanded. Meanwhile the government had done some policy in developing the social capital of small industry by holding a training and competition, increasing the access and relation of small industry with foreign and national company, also helping on the social capital. Therefore, small industry still can survive in facing the AEC era.


2014 ◽  
Vol 686 ◽  
pp. 639-642
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Ming Yuan Ma

With pm2.5 and environmental pollution problem of urban smog, energy conservation and environmental protection has become an important subject in the current car development, so the new energy vehicles get more and more favor from the government and enterprises. But the new energy vehicles’ market share in our country is still small and the technology is not mature. This paper summarizes the experience and lessons in the development of new energy vehicles at home and abroad, and then based on which analyses the reasons that restrict the development of the new energy vehicles, finally puts forward the countermeasures of new energy vehicles development from the government's macro policy, battery technology, management mechanism, public participation and so on. In addition, it also puts forward a new opinion that encourages and guides the social capital to participate in the operation of the new energy vehicle infrastructure construction and operation, then provides a model for our country’s new energy vehicles future development.


Healthline ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Kiranjit Kaur ◽  
Naveen Krishan Goel ◽  
Manoj Kumar Sharma ◽  
Navpreet Singh ◽  
Mamta Bishnoi ◽  
...  

Introduction: Social capital is defined as social cohesion among communities. This refers to processes between people which establish network, social trust and co-operation and mutual benefit. The present study was conducted to know the status of social capital among elderly population of Chandigarh city, India. Methods: The study was conducted from January to April 2017. The study was community based using convenience sampling. A total of 300 elderly subjects were selected for interview from the electoral rolls. The survey instrument was modified Onyx and Bullen scale consisting of 30 items with responses on likert scale from 1-4. Results: Mean age of respondents was 66.47 years. Male: Female ratio was 1.4:1. 45.7% owned their residence whereas 54.3% lived as tenants. Social capital score of majorities of elderly was good (63.7%) followed by average (19.3%).Highest mean scores were received for questions namely: would you help someone if their vehicle breaks down (3.03±0.69), do you agree to helping yourself when you help others (3.15±0.78) and have you visited your neighborhood in the past week (3.01±0.82). Poorest scorewere received for questions: while on shopping, are likely to run into friends (1.11±0.53) and have you done a favor for a sick neighbor in last 6 months (1.33±0.53). Conclusion: Social capital status among elderly of Chandigarh city was good andhigher scores were seenamong males. Highest mean scores were seen in factor 4 (proactivity in social context) and lowest among family and factor 5 (friend’s connections).


Author(s):  
Carolyn Richardson

Although it barely registered in social media and current news in North America, the Shanghai 2010 World Expo was the most expensive urban reconstruction project in Chinese history and also caused the largest human relocation project in Shanghai history. To make way for the Expo, over18 000 families- an estimated 55 000 people- were relocated to the outskirts of Shanghai, away from their homes, communities, social connections and basic services. Of these residents, 25 000 were relocated to Pujiang new town: a brand new town constructed for this occasion by the Shanghai government. Although the government and contracted urban planners built the town, it is the relocated residents who are building the community. Using personal interviews that I and my Shanghainese partner conducted with the residents of Pujiang new town, we aimed to find out how residents are regaining the “social capital” that was lost during their forced relocation, and how their “individual and collective agency” prevents them from being seen as victims of a strong centralized government. In order to understand how this unique case of urban development was created, I will also be explaining the historical causes of the project, and it’s social and political consequences. However, it is the overarching question of “how does China see urban development, and why?” that I wish to answer


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
Kwon Huck Ju

Development strategies based on neoliberal theories and good governance have failed to achieved clear outcomes. This paper examines the Saemaul Undong movement in Korea with the contention that it can provide a missing link between market- and state-oriented development policy. Saemaul Undong contributed to social and economic development in Korea not only as a self-help community movement but also as a mechanism of social inclusion. Its success was based on a social structure that was made more open to upward mobility by the land reform of the 1950s. A negative aspect of Saemaul Undong is that it was promoted by the government to mobilize political support for authoritarian President Park Chung Hee. In order to draw policy implications from Saemaul Undong for international development, it is necessary to consider the social and political context of the developing countries under consideration.


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