• Household poverty

Household poverty

Is economic well-being related to one's social networks? These two papers explore the links between social capital and well being among households in rural Bangladesh.

The first paper, entitled "Does it pay to be social?" investigates the effect of informal and formal social capital on economic well-being. Results suggest:

• a positive association between informal social interactions and per capita household expenditure
• the relationship between formal social capital, or adherence to a group or organisation, and well-being varies according to organisation type
• membership to formal organisations has a negative effect on the per capita expenditure of the ultra poor.

Although the results establish an association between social capital and household expenditure, no definite causality is established.

The second paper, entitled "Do relationships matter? An empirical study of social capital in rural Bangladesh," complements the first. It explicitly addresses the issue of causality. The main findings of the study establish:

• a strong positive influence of social relations on economic well-being
• no significant influence of income on social relations
• social relations are correlated with the extent of village-level conflict, informal insurance mechanisms and information flows.

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