Social Capability as a Driver for Economic Growth: A Conceptual and Empirical Study on Structural Dynamics, 1991-2016

Abstract: To this day, the question of what factors drive economic development and catching-up remains deeply controversial in growth literature. The concept of social capability provides a useful framework to investigate the relationship of the parallel processes of transformation, inclusion, autonomy and accountability with economic performance. Nevertheless, there are few attempts to quantify social capability. By compiling and analysing a sample of 118 countries over 26 years from 1991 to 2016, this thesis contributes to this emerging discussion. The results are diverse but point to trends that are consistent with previous literature. Most importantly, the increasing productivity in the agricultural sector seems to be pivotal for long- term economic performance. Furthermore, the degree of inclusion appears to play an essential and mediating role. The results of this thesis show the need for closer coordination between cross-country approaches and historical case studies concerning social capability.