What role social capital plays in social inclusion and what impact any such role has on the role of the state in social inclusion.

The concept of social capital continues to be the subject of active debate. Leading social scientists such as Putman define it in general terms as relating to “connections among individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trust that arise from them”. Expressed in this way, claims have been made that social capital is influential in explaining a wide range of factors in society including educational performance, performance in the labour market, and civic participation, all of which relate to social inclusion.
Yet the mechanisms by which social capital may operate to produce these effects is far from clear. Progress is being made in research to put the concept onto a more rigorous footing, for example to identify categories of social capital and to understand the significance of formal and informal networks and local and wider processes of social attachment, for different social groups in the community. Until this is clearer it is not possible to properly assess the role of the state in promoting social capital as a mechanism for increasing social inclusion.
Researchers in the Scottish Executive are actively engaged with those developing the knowledge base in this important area.