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Social capital theory contends that social relationships are resources that can lead to the development and accumulation of human capital. For example, a stable family environment can support educational attainment and support the development of highly valued and rewarded skills and credentials.
More recently social capital theory has predominantly focused on the dimensions of social capital developed by Nahapiet & Ghoshal (1998) building on Granovetter's (1992) theory of embeddedness. 2.1 Theory of capital – Pierre Bourdieu
The theory posits that social networks are a form of capital, much like physical or human capital, that can be leveraged to achieve social and economic outcomes. Key thinkers associated with this theory include Pierre Bourdieu, James Coleman, and Robert Putnam.
Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu used the term in 1972 in his Outline of a Theory of Practice, and clarified the term some years later in contrast to cultural, economic, administrative capital, physical capital, political capital, social capital and symbolic capital.
This paper reviews the origins and definitions of social capital in the writings of Bourdieu, Loury, and Coleman, among other authors. It distinguishes four sources of social capital and examines their dynamics.
