IN SEARCH OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN ECONOMICS

The economic well-being of economic agents is assumed to be interpersonally dependent and varies according to the strength of relationships, values, and social bonds. The extent of this interpersonal dependency is measured using social capital coefficients in a neoclassical model in which agents with stable preferences maximize utility. The model's predictions are tested empirically by asking agents how their distribution of a scarce resource is altered by relationships.Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

A WHITE PAPER ON THE RELEVANCE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL FOR THE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES (CANR)

Social capital is about relationships that are often based on earned or inherited kernels of commonality. Social capital raises the ethical question of when relationships should be allowed to influence outcomes. The essential theory underlying the social capital paradigm is that relationships of sympathy or social capital influence almost every interpersonal transaction. Since interpersonal transactions occur in many settings, the study of social capital is multi-disciplinary and interested in such diverse topics as charitable giving, leadership development, educational achievements, migration patterns, formation of cooperatives, how people care for the environment, diffusion of technology, advertising, economic development, family integrity, flow of legal, recreational, and health services, management of organizations, community development, animal health, passage of legislation, and the creation of civil society. Social capital is relevant to the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) because it represents an important resource that must be studied and managed to achieve CANR's mission.Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

REFLECTIONS ON RELEVANCE OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALS

It appears the major private benefit from peer reviewed journals such as the Review of Agricultural Economics (RAE) is certification. To maintain public support for our journals, increased efforts are needed to demonstrate the social benefits from peer reviewed publications. Research cost considerations have led agricultural economists to emphasize applied disciplinary work using secondary data and to ignore the important work of careful data collection and reporting. Moreover, pressures to publish have led to more isolated research efforts ignoring other disciplines. Recommendations to improve the relevance of journal publications include more active efforts by journal editors to make applied journals such as RAE more accessible to the public.Certification, Confirmation studies, Private goods, Public goods, Relevance, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

SOCIAL CAPITAL AND RISK RESPONSES

The economic well-being of economic agents is assumed to be interpersonally dependent. The extent of this interpersonal dependency varies according to the strength of relationships, values, and social bonds and is measured using social capital coefficients in a neoclassical model in which agents with stable preferences maximize utility. The model's predictions are tested empirically by asking agents how their willingness to bear a risk is altered when their refusal to accept the risk increases the risk faced by others.Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Risk and Uncertainty,

APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL THEORY

Experiments and studies were conducted to investigate the role of social capital. Social capital (relationship to others) is a productive asset which is a substitute for and complement to other productive assets. The productivity of social capital leads to the expectation that firms and individuals invest in relationships. Data were collected to answer the following questions: Does the identity (relationship) of trading partners affect selling and buying prices; the acceptance of catastrophic risk; the choice of share or cash leases in agriculture; loan approval; and the banks investment to retain customers? The evidence is in the affirmative.Behavioral economics, Institutional economics, Social capital, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

IMPACTS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL ON INVESTMENT BEHAVIOR UNDER RISK

Implicit in most applications of the expected utility (EU) model is the assumption that only the decision maker's own income matters. Moreover, studies that estimate risk preferences typically measure how individuals respond to changes in the level and likelihood of having their own income altered (Young). The focus on own income in the EU model is consistent with the assumption most often applied in the neoclassical economic paradigm; namely, that the identity of participants in an economic exchange does not affect the outcome (Telser and Higinbotham).Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Risk and Uncertainty,

SOCIAL CAPITAL AND ORGANIZATIONS

An organization is a group of persons who satisfy an established membership requirement. Membership requirements may be based on inherited or earned traits. Organizations provide a place for social capital to reside. Organizations exist because they provide the setting in which members can meet their economic, social, validation, and information needs. As the needs of members change, membership requirements and organizational emphasis may also change. Relationships among an organization's members range from antipathetic to sympathetic. Depending on the quality of relationships or social capital within an organization, power will be exercised using a stick, carrot, and hug. Organizations may experience conflict if members perceive they must compete with each other to satisfy their needs. Finally, in a two-person relationship, social capital is likely to be symmetric or exploitation may exist. In more complicated relationships, social capital is likely to satisfy adding up constraints.Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE INTERTEMPORAL STABILITY OF RISK PREFERENCE

The interval measurement approach was used to obtain risk preference measures for 23 Michigan farmers in 1979 and again in 1981. This paper analyzes how risk preferences of the individuals in this group of decision-makers changed over a two year time period. Risk preferences were most stable near typically experienced personal income levels.Risk and Uncertainty,

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: DO THEY INFLUENCE THE SALE PRICE OF LAND?

Land Economics/Use,

INFLATION, CASH FLOWS, AND GROWTH: SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FARM FIRM

Agribusiness,