Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-qks25 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-16T03:11:27.117Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Effect of Social Capital on the Choice to Use Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Abdul B.A. Munasib  and
Jeffrey L. Jordan
Abdul B.A. Munasib
Affiliation:
Department of Economics and Legal Studies in Business, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
Jeffrey L. Jordan
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Georgia, Griffin Campus, Griffin, GA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We investigate whether social capital in the form of community involvement affects farmers' choice to use sustainable agricultural practices. Using associational memberships as a measure of community involvement we study its effects on agricultural practices among Georgia farmers. Our findings show that, first, community involvement had a positive effect on the decision to adopt sustainable agricultural practices, and, secondly, it also had a positive effect on the extent to which farmers adopt these practices. These findings establish an additional dimension to the benefits that would accrue to policies that promote social interaction and civic engagement in rural areas.

Keywords

adoptionassociational membershipscommunity involvementsocial capitalsustainable agricultureZ1Q16Q56
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , May 2011 , pp. 213 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andreoni, J. “Giving with Impure Altruism: Applications to Charity and Ricardian Equivalence.” The Journal of Political Economy 97,6 (1989): 1447–58.10.1086/261662Google Scholar
Artikov, I., Hoffman, S.J., Lynne, G.D., PytlikZillig, L.M., Hu, Q., Tomkins, A., Hubbard, K., Hayes, M., and Waltman, W. “Understanding the Influence of Climate Forecasts on Farmer Decisions as Planned Behavior.” Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 45,9 (2006): 1202–15.10.1175/JAM2415.1Google Scholar
Asheim, G.B. “Unjust Intergenerational Allocations.” Journal of Economic Theory 54(1991): 350–71.10.1016/0022-0531(91)90127-PGoogle Scholar
Barr, A. “Social Capital and Technical Information Flows in the Ghanaian Manufacturing Sector.” Oxford Economic Papers 52,3(2000):539–59.10.1093/oep/52.3.539Google Scholar
Barro, R.J. “Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?” The Journal of Political Economy 82,6(1974): 1095–117.10.1086/260266Google Scholar
Brooks, A.C. “Does Social Capital Make You Generous?” Social Science Quarterly 86,1 (2005): 1–15.10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00287.xGoogle Scholar
Calvó-Armengol, A., Patacchini, E., and Zenou, Y. “Peer Effects and Social Networks in Education.” The Review of Economic Studies 76,4 (2009): 1239–67.10.1111/j.1467-937X.2009.00550.xGoogle Scholar
Carter, M., and Maluccio, J. “Social Capital and Coping with Economic Shock: An Analysis of Stunting of South African Children.” World Development 31,7(2003):1147–63.10.1016/S0305-750X(03)00062-7Google Scholar
Casey, F., and Lynne, G.D. “Adoption of Water Conservation Technologies in Agriculture: The Role of Expected Profits and the Public Interest.” Flexible Incentives for the Adoption of Environmental Technologies in Agriculture. Casey, F., Schmitz, A., Swinton, S., and Zilberman, D., eds., pp. 229–47. Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999.10.1007/978-94-011-4395-0_14Google Scholar
Chouinard, H.H., Paterson, T., Wandschneider, P., and Ohler, A. “Will Farmers Trade Profits for Stewardship? Heterogeneous Motivations for Farm Practice Selection.” Land Economics 84,1(2008):66–82.Google Scholar
Costa, D., and Kahn, M. “Understanding the Decline in American Social Capital, 1953-1998.” Kyklos 56,1(2003):17–46.10.1111/1467-6435.00208Google Scholar
Coyle, K. 2005. “Env. Literacy in America: 10 yrs of NEETF/Roper reports,” The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) Report. Internet site: http://www.peecworks.org/-PEECyPEEC_Research/S00C6A997-00C6AB11.Google Scholar
Davidson, R., and MacKinnon, J.G. Econometric Theory and Methods. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.Google Scholar
DeTray, S. “Top-Down versus Bottom-Up Organizations: An Analysis of Institutional Obstacles to Development in Rural Tanzania.” Doctoral Dissertation. Department of Political Science: University of Washington, 1995.Google Scholar
DiPasquale, D., and Glaeser, E. “Incentives and Social Capital: Are Homeowners Better Citizens?” Journal of Urban Economics 45,2(1999):354–84.10.1006/juec.1998.2098Google Scholar
Durlauf, S.N., and Fafchamps, M. “Social Capital.” Handbook of Economic Growth. Aghion, P. and Durlauf, S., eds., pp. 1639–99. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2005.Google Scholar
Duroy, Q.M. “The Determinants of Environmental Awareness and Behavior.” Rensselaer Working Papers in Economics 0501, 2005.Google Scholar
Fafchamps, M., and Minten, B. “Relationships and Traders in Madagascar.” The Journal of Development Studies 35,6(1999): 1–35.Google Scholar
Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A., and Gowdy, J.M. “Environmental Awareness and Happiness.” Rensselaer Working Papers in Economics, 0503, 2005.Google Scholar
Flora, C.B. “Social Capital and Sustainability: Agriculture and Communities in the Great Plains and Corn Belt.” Iowa Experiment Station Journal Paper No. J-16309, 1995.Google Scholar
Fukuyama, F. “Social Capital and Civil Society.” International Monetary Fund Policy Working Paper WP/00/74, 2000.Google Scholar
Glaeser, E.L., Laibson, D., and Sacerdote, B. “The Economic Approach to Social Capital.” The Economic Journal 112,483(2002):F437–58.10.1111/1468-0297.00078Google Scholar
Goss, K.A. “Volunteering and the Long Civic Generation.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 28,4(1999):378–415.10.1177/0899764099284002Google Scholar
Grafton, R.Q., and Knowles, S. “Social Capital and National Environmental Performance: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.” Journal of Environment & Development 13(2004):336–70.10.1177/1070496504271417Google Scholar
Granovetter, M. Getting a Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers, 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1995.Google Scholar
Greene, C., Dimitri, C., Lin, B.-H., McBride, W., Oberholtzer, L., and Smith, T. 2009. Emerging Issues in the US Organic Industry. Internet site: www.ers.usda.gov/publications/EIB55/EIB55.pdf (Accessed September 28, 2010).Google Scholar
Grootaert, C. Social Capital, Household Welfare, and Poverty in Indonesia. Mimeo, World Bank, 2000.Google Scholar
Helliwell, J. “Economic Growth and Social Capital in Asia.” The Asia Pacific Region in the Global Economy: A Canadian Perspective. Harris, R., ed., pp. 21–42. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1996.Google Scholar
Isham, J. “The Effect of Social Capital on Technology Adoption: Evidence from Rural Tanzania.” Journal of African Economies 11,1(2002): 39–60.10.1093/jae/11.1.39Google Scholar
Jacobs, J. “Strategies for Helping Cities.” American Economic Review, Part I, 59,4(1969):652–56.Google Scholar
Krishna, A., and Uphoff, N. “Mapping and Measuring Social Capital: A Conceptual and Empirical Study of Collective Action for Conserving and Developing Watersheds in Rajasthan, India.” World Bank Social Capital Initiative Working Paper no. 13, 1999.Google Scholar
Krugman, P.R. Geography and Trade. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1991.Google Scholar
LaPorta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., Shleifer, A., and Vishny, R. “Trust in Large Organizations.” The American Economic Review 87(1997):333–38.Google Scholar
Lewbel, A. “Constructing Instruments for Regressions with Measurement Error when no Additional Data are Available, with an Application to Patents and R&D.” Econometrica 65,5(1997):1201–13.10.2307/2171884Google Scholar
Lotter, D.W. “Organic Agriculture.” Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 21,4(2003):59–128.10.1300/J064v21n04_06Google Scholar
Lynne, G.D. “Modifying the Neo-Classical Approach to Technology Adoption with Behavioral Science Models.” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 27,1(1995):67–80.S107407080001960XGoogle Scholar
Lynne, G.D., and Casey, F. “Regulation of Technology Adoption When Individuals Pursue Multiple Utility.” Journal of Socio-Economics 27,6(1998):701–19.10.1016/S1053-5357(99)80004-3Google Scholar
Lynne, G.D., Casey, F., Hodges, A., and Rahmani, M. “Conservation Technology Adoption Decisions and the Theory of Planned Behavior.” Journal of Economic Psychology 16,4(1995):581–98.10.1016/0167-4870(95)00031-6Google Scholar
Maluccio, J., Haddad, L., and May, J. “Social Capital and Household Welfare in South Africa.” The Journal of Development Studies 36,6(2001):54–81.Google Scholar
Manski, C.F. “Economic Analysis of Social Interactions.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 14,3(2000):115–36.10.1257/jep.14.3.115Google Scholar
Millimet, D., and Osang, T. “Do State Borders Matter for U.S. International Trade? The Role of History and Internal Migration.” The Canadian Journal of Economics. Revue Canadienne d'Economique 40,1(2007):93–126.10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.00401.xGoogle Scholar
Montgomery, J. “Social Networks and LaborMarket Outcomes: Toward an Economic Analysis.” The American Economic Review 81,5(1991): 1408–18.Google Scholar
Munasib, A. “Lifecycle of Social Networks: A Dynamic Analysis of Social Capital Formation, the Relationship between Human Capital and Social Capital, and the Importance of City Size.” Ohio State University Dissertation Series, Ohio LINK Electronic Theses and Dissertation, 2005. Internet site: http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?osul121441394 (Accessed February 2008).Google Scholar
Narayan, D., and Pritchett, L. “Cents and Sociability: Household Income and Social Capital in Rural Tanzania.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 47,4(1999):871–97.10.1086/452436Google Scholar
National Research Council. Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2010.Google Scholar
Paldam, M., and Svendsen, G. “An Essay on Social Capital: Looking for Smoke behind the Fire.” European Journal of Political Economy 16(2000):339–66.10.1016/S0176-2680(99)00064-6Google Scholar
Pargal, S., Huq, M., and Gilligan, D. “Social Capital in Solid Waste Management: Evidence from Dhaka, Bangladesh.” Social Capital Initiative Working Paper 16. World Bank.Google Scholar
Pretty, J., and Ward, H. “Social Capital and the Environment.” World Development 29,2(2001): 209–27.10.1016/S0305-750X(00)00098-XGoogle Scholar
Putnam, R.D. “Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America.” PS: Political Science & Politics 28(1995):664–83.S1049096500058856Google Scholar
Putnam, R.D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000.Google Scholar
Rauch, J., and Casella, A. “Overcoming Informational Barriers to International Resource Allocation: Prices and Group Ties.” The Economic Journal 113,484(2001):21–42.Google Scholar
Saxton, G.D., and Benson, M.A. “Social Capital and the Growth of the Nonprofit Sector.” Social Science Quarterly 86,1(2005):16–35.10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00288.xGoogle Scholar
Sobel, J. “Can We Trust Social Capital?” Journal of Economic Literature 40(2002): 139–54.10.1257/jel.40.1.139Google Scholar
Stock, J.H., and Yogo, M. “Testing for Weak Instruments in Linear IV Regression.” Identification and Inference for Econometric Models: A Festschrift in Honor of Thomas Rothenberg. Stock, J.H. and Andrews, D.W.K., eds., pp. 80–108. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.10.1017/CBO9780511614491.006Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture -Economic Research Service. Organic Production. 2009. Internet site: www.ers.usda.gov/Data/Organic (Accessed September 28, 2010).Google Scholar
Varughese, G., and Ostrom, E. “The Contested Role of Heterogeneity in Collective Action: Some Evidence from Community Forestry in Nepal.” World Development 29(2001): 747–65.10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00012-2Google Scholar
Wandel, J., and Smithers, J. “Factors Affecting the Adoption of Conservation Tillage on Clay Soils in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.” American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 15,4 (2000):181–88.10.1017/S0889189300008754S0889189300008754Google Scholar
Wooldridge, J.M. Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002.Google Scholar