We have developed an evolutionary game model, where agents can choose between two forms of social participation: interaction via online social networks and interaction by exclusive means of face-to-face encounters. We illustrate the societal dynamics that the model predicts, in light of the...

Abstract We develop an overlapping generations model to study how the interplay between social and human capital affects fertility. In a framework where families face a trade-off between the quantity and quality of children, we incorporate the assumption that social capital plays a key role in...

Abstract Social media have been credited with the potential of reinvigorating trust by offering new opportunities for social and political participation. This view has been recently challenged by the rising phenomenon of online incivility, which has made the environment of social networking...

Abstract The literature shows that when a society believes that wealth is determined by random “luck” rather than by merit, it demands more redistribution. Adverse shocks, like earthquakes, strengthen the belief that random “bad luck” can frustrate the outcomes achieved with merit. We...

Abstract Social capital has been credited with playing a role in many desirable economic outcomes. We analyze how these potentially beneficial effects translate into the macro-performance of economies by developing a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model featuring the role of...

Abstract A society that believes wealth to be determined by random “luck” rather than by merit, demands more redistribution. The theoretical literature shows that any increase in the volatility of income caused by unpredictable adverse shocks implies a higher support for redistribution. We...

This paper contributes to the literature by conducting the first empirical investigation into the determinants of prosocial behaviour in the Palestinian territories, with a focus on the role of trust and institutions. Drawing on a unique dataset collected through the administration of a...

In this study, we develop an evolutionary game model to analyse how human relations evolve in a context characterised by declining face-to-face interactions and growing online social participation. Our results suggest that online networks may constitute a coping response allowing individuals to...

Review of Immigrant Networks and Social Capital by Carl L. Bankston III. Cambridge, UK, and Malden, MA: Polity.

The main question of this paper is: what type of social capital is able to mitigate labour precariousness and to foster human development? This issue has been addressed through a review of the literature and an empirical investigation on the Italian regions. The analysis shows that only bonding...