The Importance of the Social Capital with Regard to Economic Development: An Evaluation on the Developed and the Developing Countries

Apparently, solely addressing to the accumulation of physical capital to explain the economic situation in the countries is not considered as sufficent nowadays. The countries focus on other variables besides the physical capital to explain development levels. In this regard, the social capital has taken place in the economics literature as a new type of capital. The many researchers also acknowledge the effects of the social capital on the wealth of nations and their role regarding the economic development of these countries. There are two main purposes of this study. The first one is to explain the concept of social capital. The second one is to examine the impact of social capital on economic growth and development in terms of the developed and the developing countries. Within the scope of the study, countries with strong social capital have been observed to be more developed. It is emphasized, however, that the emerging countries should pay attantion to the social capital to achieve economic growth and development.