Elsevier

Social Science & Medicine

Volume 67, Issue 10, November 2008, Pages 1559-1570
Social Science & Medicine

Can social capital be intentionally generated? A randomized trial from rural South Africa

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.07.022Get rights and content

Abstract

While much descriptive research has documented positive associations between social capital and a range of economic, social and health outcomes, there have been few intervention studies to assess whether social capital can be intentionally generated. We conducted an intervention in rural South Africa that combined group-based microfinance with participatory gender and HIV training in an attempt to catalyze changes in solidarity, reciprocity and social group membership as a means to reduce women's vulnerability to intimate partner violence and HIV. A cluster randomized trial was used to assess intervention effects among eight study villages. In this paper, we examined effects on structural and cognitive social capital among 845 participants and age and wealth matched women from households in comparison villages. This was supported by a diverse portfolio of qualitative research.

After two years, adjusted effect estimates indicated higher levels of structural and cognitive social capital in the intervention group than the comparison group, although confidence intervals were wide. Qualitative research illustrated the ways in which economic and social gains enhanced participation in social groups, and the positive and negative dynamics that emerged within the program. There were numerous instances where individuals and village loan centres worked to address community concerns, both working through existing social networks, and through the establishment of new partnerships with local leadership structures, police, the health sector and NGOs. This is among the first experimental trials suggesting that social capital can be exogenously strengthened. The implications for community interventions in public health are further explored.

Section snippets

Ubuntu – ‘I am because you are’ (South Africa)

Among the first references to the term social capital was by Hanifan in 1916 when highlighting the importance of community involvement in a successful schooling system (Hanifan, 1916). Over the course of the 20th century, the concept has been further invigorated by the likes of Durkheim, Bourdieu, and Coleman (Baron et al., 2000, Portes, 1998), and recently by Putnam whose re-introduction of the term into public and academic debate has stimulated an explosion of research on social capital and

Setting

This study was conducted between June 2001 and March 2005 in South Africa's rural Limpopo Province. The area is densely settled and adjacent to a platinum mining belt. Study villages were between two and 20 km from a main trading centre. Poverty remains widespread (Rose & Charlton, 2003) with high levels of labour migration (Collinson, Tollman, Kahn, Clark, & Garenne, 2005). Few households have land or livestock sufficient to support livelihoods and the major source of income is government

Intervention participation and baseline characteristics

Four hundred and thirty women enrolled in the loan program during the 15-month recruitment period, which was in line with program targets of approximately 20% of eligible households based on poverty criteria. Approximately 1750 loans were disbursed over the first three years of program operation, valued at over US $290,000. Loans were most often used to support retail businesses selling fruit and vegetables, new/second-hand clothes or tailoring businesses. Repayment rates were above 99·7%. The

Discussion

This study suggests that an intervention combining group-based microfinance with gender and HIV training has the potential to catalyze shifts in multiple dimensions of social capital among participating households relative to a matched comparison group over a two year period. Effects on structural social capital appeared large, with evidence of expanded social group membership. In this area of rural South Africa, involvement in religious organizations, financial savings organizations, and

Conclusion

There remains much to learn about interventions to strengthen social capital, the process of community mobilization, and techniques to foster sustainable community participation in health. In the IMAGE Study, a multi-level intervention that provided economic, social and educational inputs resulted in reductions in levels of violence and HIV risk behaviour. While the data presented here suggest plausible shifts social capital may have taken place in the context of the intervention, they may not

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  • Cited by (0)

    The study has received financial support from AngloAmerican Chairman's Fund Educational Trust, AngloPlatinum, Department for International Development (UK), The Ford Foundation, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, HIVOS, South African Department of Health and Welfare, and the Swedish International Development Agency. We would like to thank Prof. John Gear for his support throughout, the Managing Director of Small Enterprise Foundation, John de Wit, and the many staff who have made this work possible.

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