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The Economic Approach to Cooperation and Trust

Lessons for the Study of Social Capital and Health

  • Chapter
Social Capital and Health

Abstract

A rapidly growing empirical literature from across the social sciences relates social capital to a diverse array of indicators of well-being, including economic growth (Knack & Keefer, 1997), labor force participation (Aguilera, 2002), violent crime (Galea, Karpati, & Kennedy, 2002), political corruption (La Porta et al., 1997), and even self-reported happiness (Bjornskov, 2003). Of all the phenomena thought to be affected by social capital, health and health-related outcomes have received the greatest attention, evidenced in part by the contributions in this volume. Yet, despite repeated findings of a statistical association between social capital and various health outcomes and risk factors, as well as the existence of plausible causal pathways linking social capital to individual health,3 many health economists are skeptical of the importance of social capital for health (e.g., Mellor & Milyo, 2005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA

    Lisa R. Anderson PhD & Jennifer M. Mellor PhD

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  1. Lisa R. Anderson PhD
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  2. Jennifer M. Mellor PhD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Kresge Buliding, 7th Floor 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Ichiro Kawachi , S.V. Subramanian  & Daniel Kim ,  & 

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Anderson, L.R., Mellor, J.M. (2008). The Economic Approach to Cooperation and Trust. In: Kawachi, I., Subramanian, S., Kim, D. (eds) Social Capital and Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71311-3_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71311-3_7

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