There is no unitary theory of social capital but a number of distinctive accounts. Alejandro portes is howard harrison and gabrielle snyder beck professor of sociology and director of the center for migration and development at princeton university. He is the author of 250 articles and chapters on national development, international migration, latin american and caribbean urbanization, and economic sociology. I consider here the alternative applications of the concept as an attribute of individuals vs.
Alejandro portes capital social sociologia capital. In this paper, i argue that it is dangerous to apply the concept of social capital to theories of civil society. To these problems we can now add the one that levine et al. Migration and social change, keynote address to the conferences on theorizing key migration debates and theories of migration and social change, oxford university june 2008 international migration and national development. City on the edge by alejandro portes, alex stepick. The concept of social capital and its usage in educational studies 57 social ties and relations. This approach stresses the importance of vertical as well as horizontal associations between people and of relations within and among such organizational entities as community groups and firms woolcock and narayan. A summary and systematization of the negative consequences of social capital are presented in portes and landolt. Civil society and the dangers of social capital social capital is a very useful concept. Despite its potential utility, current social capital theory is underdeveloped and is often misapplied to civil. Definitions of social capital social capital research. The seminar emphasizes the sociological approach to social capital theory as outlined by james coleman, but will also cover different sociological approaches, as well as the use of social capital in. The downside of social capital by portes, alejandro. The commonalities of most definitions of social capital are that they focus on social relations that have productive benefits.
Portes, alejandro and vickstrom, erik, diversity, social capital, and cohesion august 2011. Network approach to social capital theory social capital. Subsequently, putnam and his followers announced that ethnic diversity, brought about by heightened immigration, reduced social capital, hence negating the wide array of social benefits attributed to it. The rise of transnational communities alejandro portes wptc9801 princeton university september 1997 an earlier version of this essay was published in w. He is currently head of the department of sociology at princeton. Biographical sketch alejandro portes is professor of sociology at princeton university and. Algunas de estas definiciones individuales, al igual que las de ciertas. Princeton university department of sociology december 2008. Projecting fantasies of wealth and excess, miami, americas riviera, occupies a unique place in our national imagination. Social capital is a social facility which is a basis of agency for those who invest in it and have access to it. I begin with the network structure of social capital, explaining the information and control benefits of structural holes. Read about definitions of social capital commonly used in 2019. Capital social, relaciones sociales, normas, redes, confianza social capital today abstract.
This seminar provides an overview of social capital theory. Promise and pitfalls of its role in development volume 32 issue 2 alejandro portes, patricia landolt. In their search for new ideas, intellectuals and policymakers across the political spectrum have recently become enchanted with the concept of social capital. From this perspective individuals are free agents, purposely and rationally acting to maximise utility. Social capital is a collection of various resources, and the opportunity to use resources and capital can be obtained by occupying a certain network. Woolcock and narayan 2000 identified that the network approach takes into account both social capitals upside and its downside see benefits and disadvantages section.
In the first part the concept is presented, some antecedents related to the theoretical context in which it. Putnams concept of social capital with that of pierre bourdieus. Uncovering the hidden story of this dreamlike place, portes and stepick explore the transformations of miami from a lighthearted tourist resort to a troubled, complex city. Portes, alejandro alejandro portes is a prominent cubanamerican sociologist. The popularity of the concept of social capital has been accompanied by increasing controversy about its actual meaning and effects. The distinction between bonding and bridging social capital builds on the seminal work of mark granovetter granovetter 1973, 1985, 2000 on embeddedness. Alejandro portes is often cited in the context of drawing attention to the potential dark side of social capital portes, 1998. Winner, 1995 american sociological association robert e. Social capital refers to an individuals ability to mobilize scarce resources in a network or wider social structure alejandro portes, 1996 12.
Diversity, social capital, and cohesion by alejandro. Their meanings and indicators partially overlap, and thus they are sometimes used interchangeably to refer to the interrelations of economy and society. Notes on the social determinants of economic action1 alejandro portes and julia sensenbrenner johns hopkins university this article contributes to the reemerging field of economic sociol ogy by 1 delving into its classic roots to refine current concepts. This cited by count includes citations to the following articles in scholar. The causes of social exclusion and the consequences of.
The variety of definitions identified in the literature stem from the highly context specific nature of social capital and the complexity of its conceptualization and operationalization. Liberals and conservatives alike now celebrate social capital as the key to. In his influential essay, portes suggests at least four different reasons why social capital effects are not always positive, including. I present some empirical evidence illustrating the. Pdf alejandro portes capital social free download pdf. Descargue como pdf, txt o lea en linea desde scribd. This declaration received wide attention, scaring governments and.
Alejandro portes argues that it is perceived as a cure for all social problems 1998. Social exclusion and social capital are widely used concepts with multiple and ambiguous definitions. In this case, the negative consequences of social capital, in the form of excessive ingroup trust, are felt not only by members of the group, but by the entire society in the form. Promise and pitfalls of its role in development alejandro portesand patricia landolt the purpose of this commentary is threefold. Both ideas could benefit from further specification and differentiation. Portes, alejandro, 2000, the two meanings of social capital, sociological forum, 151. Applications of the concept in the sociological literature emphasize its role in social control, in family support, and in benefits mediated by extrafamilial networks. However, excessive extensions of the concept may jeopardize its heuristic value. In this work, literature on social capital is analyzed critically, with emphasis on the current situation of the subject. Functions of social capital bonding, bridging, linking. Totheseproblemswecannowaddthe one that levine et al. The concept of social capital and its usage in educational studies 59 to understand fully his approach, we must see the use of social capital a s a part of the general rational choice theory built by coleman. Putnams concept of social capital has three components.
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