Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Abstract
Social capital is a complex and muhi-dimensional construction or concept. It has different types. levels, objective and subjective aspects. causes and consequences. characteristics which have not been made explicit theoretically and empirically. The classical social thinkers only considered the content of social capital. Among the contemporary social scientists such as Parsons. Habennas, Giddens. and Castells, some of the components and indices of social capital are dealt with. and yet among some others such as Bourdieu, Putnam. Fokuyama, the exact concept of social capital has been discussed explicitly. The latter group has developed the theoretical dimension of social capital. The empirical dimension of social capital has been considered by the states, international organizations. and social researchers. But in spite of considerable theoretical and empirical works published. there remain rnany theoretical and methodological problerns such as reductionist dualism, weak distinction between causes and consequences. and lack of theoretical integration of the empirical works. This article considers characteristics of social capital. A multi-dimensional scale has been developed its measurement. and an integrated theoretical model is offered for its analysis. All these as solution have been used 10 distinguish the types, levels, dimensions. and consequences and to define the main causes through multi-variant analysis. The results are presented as an applicable example for the measurement and analysis of social capital in Iran.
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