Talk:Social capital/Archives/2016

Dr. Zenou's comment on this article
Dr. Zenou has reviewed this Wikipedia page, and provided us with the following comments to improve its quality:

"It is a very complete article and it lists all the important aspects of social capital."

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 * Reference : Patacchini, Eleonora & Rainone, Edoardo & Zenou, Yves, 2014. "Heterogeneous Peer Effects in Education," CEPR Discussion Papers 9804, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

ExpertIdeasBot (talk) 16:16, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

Dr. Mogues's comment on this article
Dr. Mogues has reviewed this Wikipedia page, and provided us with the following comments to improve its quality:

"The section called "Social capital and reproduction of inequality" starts with this para:

"James Coleman has indicated that social capital eventually led to the creation of human capital for the future generation.[155] Human capital, a private resource, could be accessed through what the previous generation accumulated through social capital. Field suggested that such a process could lead to the very inequality social capital attempts to resolve.[156] While Coleman viewed social capital as a relatively neutral resource, he did not deny the class reproduction that could result from accessing such capital, given that individuals worked toward their own benefit. Even though Coleman never truly addresses Bourdieu in his discussion, this coincides with Bourdieu's argument set forth in Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. Bourdieu and Coleman were fundamentally different at the theoretical level (as Bourdieu believed the actions of individuals were rarely ever conscious, but more so only a result of their habitus (see below) being enacted within a particular field, but this realization by both seems to undeniably connect their understanding of the more latent aspects of social capital."

It can be strengthened, I propose this revision:

"James Coleman has indicated that social capital eventually led to the creation of human capital for the future generation.[155] Human capital, a private resource, could be accessed through what the previous generation accumulated through social capital. Field suggested that such a process could lead to the very inequality social capital attempts to resolve.[156] Furthermore, when inequality is pronouncedly socially embedded--that is, when the rich and the poor are distinguished not only through their wealth but through their ethnicity, language, and other social characteristics--then the fact that social networks can generate material returns can be responsible for a further deepening and reproduction of economic inequality.[1] While Coleman viewed social capital as a relatively neutral resource, he did not deny the class reproduction that could result from accessing such capital, given that individuals worked toward their own benefit. Even though Coleman never truly addresses Bourdieu in his discussion, this coincides with Bourdieu's argument set forth in Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. Bourdieu and Coleman were fundamentally different at the theoretical level (as Bourdieu believed the actions of individuals were rarely ever conscious, but more so only a result of their habitus (see below) being enacted within a particular field, but this realization by both seems to undeniably connect their understanding of the more latent aspects of social capital." The addition (ending in the bracketed [1]) is based on the following research precisely on this topic: Tewodaj Mogues and Michael Carter (2005) "Social capital and the Reproduction of Economic Inequality in Polarised Societies". Journal of Economic Inequality, 3: 193-219."

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 * Reference : Michael Carter & Peter Little & Tewodaj Mogues & Workneh Negatu, 2005. "Shocks, Sensitivity and Resilience: Tracking the Economic Impacts of Environmental Disaster on Assets in Ethiopia and Honduras," Development and Comp Systems 0511029, EconWPA.

ExpertIdeasBot (talk) 13:55, 7 June 2016 (UTC)

Dr. Ioannides's comment on this article
Dr. Ioannides has reviewed this Wikipedia page, and provided us with the following comments to improve its quality:

"This article does not touch upon the difficulties economists have encountered in empirical implementations of the concept. See Edward L. Glaeser, David Laibson and Bruce Sacerdote, 2002, "An Economic Approach to Social Capital," The Economic Journal, 112 (November), F437–F458. Also, Steven N. Durlauf, 1999, "The case “against” social capital," Focus, and Steven N. Durlauf, 2002. “On the Empirics of Social Capital,” Economic Journal, 112, 459-479."

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We believe Dr. Ioannides has expertise on the topic of this article, since he has published relevant scholarly research:


 * Reference : Yannis M. Ioannides & Giorgio Topa, 2009. "Neighborhood Effects: Accomplishments and Looking Beyond Them," Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University 0736, Department of Economics, Tufts University.

ExpertIdeasBot (talk) 14:31, 7 July 2016 (UTC)

Dr. Grignon's comment on this article
Dr. Grignon has reviewed this Wikipedia page, and provided us with the following comments to improve its quality:

"My comments are on section 9 only (Effects on Health), as I am not competent to assess the other sections.

Statement: "A growing body of research has found that the presence of social capital through social networks and communities has a protective quality on health" Comment: There is vast literature in social epidemiology (Ishiro Kawachi, Lisa Berkman) and economics (Sherman Folland, Richard Sheffler) showing a positive association between levels of social capital (however measured) and health (self-perceived, diagnosed, functional), at the individual or areal level. But not much can actually prove that social capital has a protective effect on health: the true (causal) effect is almost impossible to identify due to reciprocal causality and/or unobserved heterogeneity. In a few words, the association can result from healthy individuals (or areas) being more able to engage in social interactions and building strong social ties (hence higher levels of social capital) or some unobserved (in analyses of social capital and health) characteristic of society (e.g., the labour market) that would motivate simultaneous investments in health (capital) and social capital (networks). A thorough attempt at teasing out these identification issues is the 2008 paper by Sherman Folland: Folland, S. (2008), ‘An economic model of social capital and health’, Health Economics, Policy and Law, 3: 333-348.

Statement: "Social capital affects health risk behavior in the sense that individuals who are embedded in a network or community rich in support, social trust, information, and norms, have resources that help achieve health goals.[107]" Comment: I agree with the statement, but it is a partial account of the theoretical links between social capital and health. Firstly, my reading of the literature in social epidemiology (source, Kawachi and Berkman, 2000) is that social capital influences health through three causal mechanisms: a) social networks provide informational resources on health and health behaviors (as mentioned in the current version of the article); b) social capital provides social support, which reduces stress which acts directly rather than through health risk behaviors to reduce illnesses; and c) social capital makes it likely that a social(ized) health care system will emerge, improving access to care and, therefore, health outcomes. Secondly, economists have proposed a theoretical model linking social capital to health as complementary goods: it is better to be in good health to enjoy the benefits of social capital and the more benefits are available (because social capital level is higher) the stronger the incentive to invest in health (Folland, 2008). I would therefore re-word the statement as follows: Several theoretical pathways have been suggested to explain the link between social capital and health. One theoretical explanation for the association between social capital and health is that social capital affects health risk behavior etc." Reference: Kawachi, I. and L.F. Berkman (2000), “Social Cohesion, Social Capital, and Health”, in L.F. Berkman and I. Kawachi (eds.), Social Epidemiology, Oxford University Press, New York.

Statement: "Additionally, negative social capital can detract from health." Comment: this should be a new paragraph, and begin with "However", not "Additionally", as it introduces the concept that social capital can be a bad thing for health in some instances. Also, it is not too clear whether it is social capital or peer-effect."

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We believe Dr. Grignon has expertise on the topic of this article, since he has published relevant scholarly research:


 * Reference : Florence Jusot & Michel Grignon & Paul Dourgnon, 2007. "Psychosocial resources and social health inequalities in France: Exploratory findings from a general population survey," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 189, McMaster University.

ExpertIdeasBot (talk) 18:04, 26 July 2016 (UTC)