A study of the effect of social capital on human development in Islamic countries

In view of the fact, social capital in some common definitions offered about it contains a number of social elements that facilitate actions of social actors and from this aspect they are able to improve society's performance. To study this characteristic of social capital and explore its effect on human development among Islamic communities, the current study examines the effect of social capital on human development among Islamic countries. For this purpose, a collection of 20 Islamic countries is examined during 1999-2008. Since social capital variable is qualitative the alternative variable of Corruption Perceptions Index is employed to measure the effect of social capital. The results of the study indicate a significant negative effect of corruption on human development index level.