Social Capital in Rural and Urban Areas

Over the past decade the concept of social capital has attracted a vast research interest at the interface of economics and the social sciences, giving rise to a large amount of literature from both a methodological and empirical viewpoint (see, for a review, 6sth et al., 2018). Broadly defined, social capital is the benefit individuals gain from mutual relations, interactions, social networks and the associated norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness (Putnam, 2000; Helliwell and Putnam, 2004). However, the topographic, demographic and socio-economic differences between rural and urban areas might lead to different social capital experiences for their residents. Additionally, given recent dramatic changes characterized by urbanization; in particular, a rise in the number of densely populated cities, and a corresponding decline in population and accessibility of amenities in rural areas, it becomes of great importance to review the rural/urban differences of social capital. The present chapter discusses the social capital concept in the light of the current socio-economic evolution of rural areas. The aim of the chapter is to identify the role and importance of accessibility, migration and occupation in interaction with social capital, given the emerging urbanization trend and the related isolation of rural areas