This essay is designed to call into question the current boomlet in policy and academic circles for social capital. Social capital has become an explanation for an array of domestic problems in the United States as well as for understanding issues of third world development. However, there is strong reason to ask whether the rise in interest in social capital is due to its demonstrated strength...

We establish an inverse relationship between family ties, generalized trust and political participation. The more individuals rely on the family as a provider of services, insurance, transfer of resources, the lower is civic engagement and political participation. The latter, together with trust, are part of what is known as social capital, therefore in this paper we contribute to the investiga...

The general research question is: To what extent can the use of an Internet Café create social capital in a local community? In more detail: Does the use of an IT-Café lead to more social contacts? How can it provide community members with support and trust and generate community solidarity? Who are the users of the Café and what is it used for? Can usage of an IT-Café facilitate co-operation a...

How does the use of social networking sites (SNSs) affect social capital offline and online? The increasing popularity of SNSs such as Facebook (FB) implies a significant change in the way we interact with others. In an extensive longitudinal study (N = 311), carried out in Norway between 2008 2010, we examined the relationship between FB use and social capital, with a focus on interpersonal in...

The social capital and human capital have been conceptualized as key resources that may facilitate the performance of new ventures. Yet, despite a surge of studies examining the role of social capital and human capital in the entrepreneurial process, no quantitative assessments have been made of the empirical evidence to date. In an effort to systematically review past research results, I condu...

* This is a revised version of a keynote lecture presented at Workshop on Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development: Exploring the Links" organised by International Institute for Sustainable Development at Ottawa, Ontario, January 23, 2001. I wish to thank participants in the Workshop for suggestions that helped revise the paper.

We have benefited from the comments of John Hoddinott. The work reported here is the outcome of a collaborative project between researchers at IFPRI, the University of Natal, and the University of Wisconsin. In addition to support from these three institutions, the following provided financial support: the United States Agency for

Background/Context: Faced with rapidly changing demographics, districts are increasingly looking to partner with parents to support and improve student learning. Community organizing holds promise for pursuing educational equity through the development of low-income parent participation and leadership, but previous research has focused primarily on the use of structural social capital theory in...