The Effectiveness of Social Capital in Breaking Spatial Poverty Trap: The Case of Rural Settlements of Babol

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mazandaran University, Babolsar, Iran.

2 Researcher of Development and Foresight Research Center, Country Planning and Budget Organization, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The view of most researchers on rural settlements in mountainous-forest areas of the Third World countries indicates that in these areas, besides extreme poverty, long duration of poverty is very significant and has resulted in poverty trap. The purpose of the research is to analyze the effect of social capital on breaking spatial poverty trap in these areas. The population of the research included members of credit and savings associations in rural forest-mountainous areas of Babol. Based on Cochran formula, 215 people were selected as the sample. The data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire and then analyzed by SPPP, version 22, and smartPLS. (Statistical tests were administered and structural equation modelling was developed based on partial least squares approach.) The results indicated that associations, as a kind of social capital, have a positive and significant relationship with livelihood capital, as an indicator of spatial poverty trap, although with varying degrees of correlation. Furthermore, social capital can account for 62 percent of financial capital variance, 68 percent of human capital variance, 65 percent of economic capital variance, 66 percent of physical capital variance, 49 percent of natural capital variance, 52 percent of institutional capital variance, and 56 percent of cultural capital variance. Therefore, the effect of awareness, trust, support, coherence, and cooperation (all considered as a single construct called “social capital”) on breaking spatial poverty trap is highlighted. It is concluded that these factors can be supported to promote the level of livelihood capital and break spatial poverty trap.

Keywords

References

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Village and Space Sustainable Development
Volume 1, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
November 2020
Pages 1-22

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