Linking Indigenous Social Capital to a Global Economy



The crises to legitimacy just described have not, of course, been entirely resolved. This is
evidenced by the ongoing struggles over the fairness of international institutional arrangements,
such the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO, that regulate global marketplaces.6 Nonetheless, in
the scholarly and public policy communities there is at least recognition that legitimacy issues
exist with respect to questions of fairness regarding the influence of different institutional
arrangements for regulating the use and development of physical and human capital. In turn, this
recognition makes possible a debate about public policy alternatives that might affect the
perceived legitimacy of specific institutional arrangements.

The relationship between social capital and the legitimacy of liberal democratic
institutions, however, is not clearly understood. There is a growing literature showing a positive
correlation between the presence of more extensive bridging social capital, trust, civil society
and economic development. 7 At the same time, however, much less attention has been given to
the much more difficult question, how can bridging social capital be created or strengthened
where it either does not exist or it is not very effective? The lack of attention to this issue leads
either to a disdain for indigenous social capital that is not associated with bridging social capital
and/or to a "one size fits all" view of the world.

The view that some types of indigenous social capital simply are incompatible with the
development of an advanced economy is articulated in Edward Banfield's classic work, The
Moral Basis of a Backward Society.8 He argues that the "amoral familism" of the southern
Italian peasant reinforces a strong distrust of strangers, thus hindering economic development by
blocking the establishment of bridging ties that would reduce transaction costs in business and
reduce corruption. The "one size fits all" view that there is essentially only one path to the
development of bridging ties is best articulated in Thomas Friedman's popular work,
The Lexus



More intriguing information

1. he Virtual Playground: an Educational Virtual Reality Environment for Evaluating Interactivity and Conceptual Learning
2. The name is absent
3. The name is absent
4. Rural-Urban Economic Disparities among China’s Elderly
5. The name is absent
6. The name is absent
7. MULTIPLE COMPARISONS WITH THE BEST: BAYESIAN PRECISION MEASURES OF EFFICIENCY RANKINGS
8. Heterogeneity of Investors and Asset Pricing in a Risk-Value World
9. The name is absent
10. Apprenticeships in the UK: from the industrial-relation via market-led and social inclusion models
11. Shifting Identities and Blurring Boundaries: The Emergence of Third Space Professionals in UK Higher Education
12. Cancer-related electronic support groups as navigation-aids: Overcoming geographic barriers
13. Migration and Technological Change in Rural Households: Complements or Substitutes?
14. How much do Educational Outcomes Matter in OECD Countries?
15. Types of Tax Concessions for Promoting Investment in Free Economic and Trade Areas
16. Partner Selection Criteria in Strategic Alliances When to Ally with Weak Partners
17. Constrained School Choice
18. On the Real Exchange Rate Effects of Higher Electricity Prices in South Africa
19. The name is absent
20. A Dynamic Model of Conflict and Cooperation