Networks, Social Capital, and Development

Abstract

This entry provides an overview of the role of networks and social capital for development. Networks have become an almost universal organizing principle for societies and economies, and have increasingly been at the center of analysis in human geography and cognate disciplines. At the same time, the concept of social capital has gained prominence in development studies and policy, following in particular Robert Putnam's influential writings in the 1990s. This has led to substantive academic debate about the value of theorizing networks and social capital as conceptual frame for development studies and policy. It is argued that a renewed engagement with more critical readings of networks and social capital can still provide a useful analytical lens for the study of development in today's global network society and economy.