A Simple Complementary Development Mechanics for African Countries

Dinda, Soumyananda (2009): A Simple Complementary Development Mechanics for African Countries.

Abstract

This paper provides a simple development mechanism for African nations, where economic development is low due to not only low level of physical capital but also poor social capital that leads to lot of conflicts. The study suggests for development of social capital, which is a broader concept containing the social norms and networks that generate shared understandings, trust and reciprocity, which underpin co-operation and collective action for mutual benefits that creates the base for economic prosperity. Social capital like trust could be accumulated when people interact in a purposeful manner with each other in workplaces, associations and range of informal and formal meeting places. These social activities increase with development of human capital through schooling. Educated individuals are interested in dialogue and conversation, which enables people to build societies, to commit them each other, and thereby to knit the social fabric and allow nation to advance smoothly. This study deals with the building of bridging and linking social capital through human capital formation that is created from productive consumption. This paper develops mechanism through which such social capital forms and contributes to economic growth in endogenous growth framework. Poor African countries can overcome low level equilibrium trap with creating social capital.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Social Capital, productive consumption, reciprocity, human capital, economic development, low level equilibrium trap, bridging social capital, Linking social Capital
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics > D11 - Consumer Economics: Theory; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy > E21 - Consumption ; Saving ; Wealth; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I15 - Health and Economic Development; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I18 - Government Policy ; Regulation ; Public Health; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I25 - Education and Economic Development; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I32 - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J24 - Human Capital ; Skills ; Occupational Choice ; Labor Productivity; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources ; Human Development ; Income Distribution ; Migration; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology ; Social and Economic Stratification; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z18 - Public Policy

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