Social capital has been described by some authors as lubricating the fabric of society and allowing modern economies to function efficiently (Fukuyama 2001). It is claimed that our society, economy, institutions, and political system could not exist without social capital; it is a glue that holds society and institutions together and lubricates their function.

However, social capital remains an elusive concept, difficult to define, involving uncertain processes, and yet charged with important outcomes. The academic literature is typically vague about what it is, what it does, and the mechanisms that produce the claimed outcomes.

This webinar will explore the outcomes of social capital. From the literature, it is clear social capital does something, and that something relates to people’s actions. Many scholars state that it facilitates cooperation and collective action, results in information flows, reduced transaction costs, social introductions, and many other actions. However, is it all social action or only certain actions? I will explore different types of action and consider which types are outcomes of social capital and which are not. Exploring the outcomes of social capital is useful in identifying what it is and separating it from what it does.

The slide deck for this session is available at [ Ссылка ]

The webinar was on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, and was part of the regular webinar sessions held by the International Social Capital Association [ Ссылка ] as part of the Facebook group [ Ссылка ] and LinkedIn group [ Ссылка ]

About the presenter: Tristan Claridge has been researching and applying social capital for over 20 years. Tristan is a geographer and environmental scientist with a passion for social processes and how social value is identified and communicated. Tristan has a deep and grounded understanding of social capital and its application, having worked on the concept from theoretical and practical perspectives. He draws on lessons from economics, sociology, political science, psychology, urban planning, and any other discipline that contributes understanding to the concept. In addition to his practical work with the concept, Tristan has been an active contributor to the academic debate about social capital. He has written over 200 open-access articles on social capital and related topics and is actively engaged in ongoing research.

00:00 Introduction
02:35 Why consider outcomes
04:45 Social capital at capital
10:06 Goal-oriented nature of social capital
14:30 Theories of human action
16:56 Negative outcomes of social capital
25:02 Modes of action related to social capital
31:19 What actions are outcomes of social capital
34:04 Modes of reason
38:54 Typology of actions and reason
41:30 Summary and references
43:45 Questions and discussion

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