同题讨论2：社会资本（Social capital）与区域经济差异 （欢迎大家参与此主题讨论，对于公认质量高的回帖，将给予适当的积分奖励）

不知各位学习研究经济发展的时候，是否曾接触到一个名词"社会资本"？ 社会资本(Social capital)的概念在1988年正式由社会学家提出("It is with the work of Jane Jacobs (1961), Pierre Bourdieu (1983), James S. Coleman (1988) and Robert D. Putnam (1993; 2000) that it has come into prominence")，其至今仍没有一个公认的定义；但基本可以理解为：“社会资本指的是个人通过社会联系获取稀缺资源(包括权力、地位、财富、资金、学识、机会、信息等等)并由此获益的能力。社会资本是可以测量的。社会资本要在社会交往中才能增值，因此，测量社会资本的一项重要指标就是社会关系的规模性。”这个概念与“人力资本”有异同，在此不详细比较。

资料显示“采用社会资本理论来解释区域经济发展的最有影响的经济学家是哈佛大学社会学家罗伯特-普特南(Robert D. Putnam)，在其著作《让民主运作》(1993)一书中，普特南用社会资本理论解释了意大利传统工业社区，如制鞋业社会资本发展程度与经济发展的关系。在该书中，普特南把社会资本看作是一种类似于道德的经济资源。普特南认为，社会资本诞生并且体现于民众交往网络(Network of Civic Engagement)之中，由于长期以来民众对本地社会经济和政治生活的参与，社会资本逐渐演进成一种能够使人们互相依赖并恩恩相报的经济资源，人们为了共同的利益而相互合作。普特南还认为，社会资本是经济发展的先决条件，社会资本的强弱决定了经济发展水平的差异。”

普特南是这么介绍"Social capital"的:

"Whereas physical capital refers to physical objects and human capital refers to the properties of individuals, social capital refers to connections among individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them. In that sense social capital is closely related to what some have called “civic virtue.” The difference is that “social capital” calls attention to the fact that civic virtue is most powerful when embedded in a sense network of reciprocal social relations. A society of many virtuous but isolated individuals is not necessarily rich in social capital.

In other words, interaction enables people to build communities, to commit themselves to each other, and to knit the social fabric. A sense of belonging and the concrete experience of social networks (and the relationships of trust and tolerance that can be involved) can, it is argued, bring great benefits to people. "

附资料:

What does "social capital" mean? The central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Social capital refers to the collective value of all "social networks" [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other ["norms of reciprocity"]. How does social capital work? The term social capital emphasizes not just warm and cuddly feelings, but a wide variety of quite specific benefits that flow from the trust, reciprocity, information, and cooperation associated with social networks. Social capital creates value for the people who are connected and - at least sometimes - for bystanders as well. Social capital works through multiple channels:

1. information flows (e.g. learning about jobs, learning about candidates running for office, exchanging ideas at college, etc.) depend on social capital
2. norms of reciprocity (mutual aid) are dependent on social networks.
   • Bonding networks that connect folks who are similar sustain particularized (in-group) reciprocity.
   • Bridging networks that connect individuals who are diverse sustain generalized reciprocity.
3. Collective action depends upon social networks (e.g., the role that the black church played in the civic rights movement) although collective action also can foster new networks.
4. Broader identities and solidarity are encouraged by social networks that help translate an "I" mentality into a "we" mentality.

What are some examples of social capital? When a group of neighbors informally keep an eye on one another's homes, that's social capital in action. When a tightly knit community of Hassidic Jews trade diamonds without having to test each gem for purity, that's social capital in action. Barn-raising on the frontier was social capital in action, and so too are e-mail exchanges among members of a cancer support group. Social capital can be found in friendship networks, neighborhoods, churches, schools, bridge clubs, civic associations, and even bars. The motto in Cheers "where everybody knows your name" captures one important aspect of social capital.

对于经济发展中的社会资本(Social capital)问题，尤其是社会资本与区域经济差异问题，各位有何见解?