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Social Capital Steven N. Durlauf, University of Wisconsin Marcel Fafchamps, CSAE Download the Paper (PDF format) - June 30, 2004 Tell a colleague about it. Printing Tips: Select 'print as image' in the Acrobat print dialog if you have trouble printing. ABSTRACT: This paper surveys research on social capital. We explore the concepts that motivate the social capital literature, efforts to formally model social capital using economic theory, the econometrics of social capital, and empirical studies of the role of social capital in various socioeconomic outcomes. While our focus is primarily on the place of social capital in economics, we do consider its broader social science context. We argue that while the social capital literature has produced many insights, a number of conceptual and statistical problems exist with the current use of social capital by social scientists. We propose some ways to strengthen the social capital literature. SUGGESTED CITATION: Steven N. Durlauf and Marcel Fafchamps, "Social Capital" (June 30, 2004). The Centre for the Study of African Economies Working Paper Series. Working Paper 214. http://www.bepress.com/csae/paper214