Description
Book SynopsisThe idea of social capital allows scholars to assess the quality of relationships among people within a particular community and show how that quality affects the ability to achieve shared goals. With evidence collected from 69 villages in India, Krishna investigates what social capital is, how it operates in practice, and what results it can be expected to produce.
Trade ReviewKrishna makes commendable use of theory to frame his study and his contribution to testing social capital's key propositions is significant... Krishna's book translates the concept of social capital into a set of practical propositions that have direct relevance for those concerned with improving the welfare of communities... [and is] a helpful resource for those who want to know how to mobilize the strength, cooperative actions and capacities of communities today. -- James Midgley International Journal of Social Welfare Active Social Capital: Tracing the Roots of Development and Democracy is an outstanding piece of scholarship. It deftly and lucidly combines a discussion of the theoretical issues, newly gathered quantitative data, and qualitative case studies to detail the impact that active social capital has on the substantive outcomes attained in the economic, social, and political realms at the village level. -- Amita Shastri Journal of Asian Studies
Table of Contents1. Introduction: Can Social Capital Help Support Development and Democracy? 2. How Might Social Capital Matter? 3. Structure and Agency: New Political Entrepreneurs and the Rise of Village-Based Collective Action 4. Measuring Social Capital 5. Understanding Economic Development: Why Do Some Villages Develop Faster than Others? 6. Examining Community Harmony: Why Are Some Villages Peaceful and Others Not? 7. Democratic Participation in Rural North India: Social Capital and New Political Entrepreneurs 8. Conclusion Appendices
