Social capital and economic well-being in Germany's regions: An exploratory spatial data analysis

Artikel

This article explores social capital in Germany in line with Putnam's claim that social capital benefits regional economic well-being. In particular, this macro-level study examines whether the number of civic associations, as a measure of a vibrant civil society, is related to higher GDP. Since this study uses spatial data on civic associations and official statistics concerning the German NUTS-3 regions, different spatial matrices model interdependencies among the dependent units of analysis. Exploratory spatial data analysis illustrates spatial patterns between districts, as well as each variable's radius of influence. Cross-sectional spatial models help examine social capital's effect on regional economic well-being. Results of these analyses are two-fold: first, the geographical scope of social capital is locally concentrated, whereas the sphere of economic well-being encloses a wider area. Second, social capital correlates positively with economic well-being in Germany's many regions.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Journal: REGION ; ISSN: 2409-5370 ; Volume: 3 ; Year: 2016 ; Issue: 1 ; Pages: 1-24 ; Louvain-la-Neuve: European Regional Science Association (ERSA)

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft
• Subject: social capital ; civic associations ; economic well-being ; Germany ; spatial interdependence

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Botzen, Katrin
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): European Regional Science Association (ERSA)
• (where): Louvain-la-Neuve
• (when): 2016

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.18335/region.v3i1.73
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/145122
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET