social capital

[soh-shuhl kap-i-tl]

noun

Sociology.

1. the interpersonal relationships, institutions, and other social assets of a society or group that can be used to gain advantage.

   the impact of social capital on productivity and economic well-being; the ways in which women accumulate social capital.

social capital

noun

1. the network of social connections that exist between people, and their shared values and norms of behaviour, which enable and encourage mutually advantageous social cooperation

Word History and Origins

Origin of social capital¹

First recorded in 1830–35

Example Sentences

But he was too optimistic, as Glenn Loury’s dissertation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed: When a family’s ability to invest in its children depends on inherited wealth and social capital, inequality can reproduce itself rather than fade away.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Chetty’s work highlights the power of neighborhoods, social capital, civic engagement and family stability to shape opportunity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Political scientist Robert Putnam spent decades documenting America’s declining social capital — how people stopped joining clubs, attending church, even bowling in leagues — in his seminal book “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.”

Read more on MarketWatch

This is where India's rich and powerful have hobnobbed for years, building social capital over cigars or squash and brokering business deals during golf sessions.

Read more on BBC

Community impact from lost income, wealth, social capital and other resources and supports?

Read more on Salon