Social capital or analytical liability? Social networks and African informal economies

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4263265
AutoresKate Meagher (0000-0001-9859-0827, University of Oxford, autor de correspondencia)
Año2005
Volumen5
Número3
Páginas217-238
Fecha de publicación2005-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaGlobal Networks (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1470-2266 • E-ISSN: 1471-0374
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1471-0374.2005.00116.x
OpenAlexW2041896450
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas61
Referencias citadas108

The rise of the ‘social capitalist’ paradigm has turned social networks into a concept that conceals more than it reveals. In this article I argue that the essentialism and cultural determinism of ‘social capitalist’ perspectives have seriously distorted the contemporary understanding of African informal economies. Attention is directed to more institutionally sensitive network perspectives that focus on how the economic performance of networks is shaped by their specific institutional content as well as by the nature of their linkages with the wider society and the state. Drawing on empirical studies from across Africa, the analysis highlights the role of ethnicity, religion, class, gender and the state in generating both positive and negative trends in the restructuring of African informal economies. Processes of continuity and change within networks are captured through the analysis of how the institutional legacies of the past interact with the social realignments, economic liberalization and globalizing dynamics of contemporary Africa

Capitalism · Economic growth · Economic system · Economics · Essentialism · Informal sector · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Restructuring · Social capital · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Taxation and Compliance Studies