Last week we touched upon the definition of “social capital” in class, particularly as it relates to INGOs.  To refresh our memories, here is the Wikipedia definition:

“Social capital is the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships, a shared sense of identity, a shared understanding, shared norms, shared values, trust, cooperation, and reciprocity.”

Measurable, economic assessments of community activities and business are important, but humans are ultimately social beings. Therefore, while social capital is a relatively unquantifiable output of a program or organization, there are researchers and politicians working to substantiate (and understand) the role it plays in the lives of U.S. citizens.

In 2018, the Joint Economic Committee, chaired by Senator Mike Lee, released “The Geography of Social Capital in America.” A new report produced from the Social Capital Project.

The Project created a new Social Capital Index which looked to “family structure and stability, family interac­tion and investment, civil society, trust and confidence in institutions, community cohesion, institutions, volunteerism, and social organization” to measure social capital.

The findings are very interesting! It shows that social capital is not an evenly distributed aspect of society, and that it is likely linked to major waves of immigration that occurred in American history.  You can click here learn more and peruse the interactive maps. Or to read more on how we measure social capital, you can check into this article.