Social capital, economic growth and well-being

Individual well-being is among the most hotly debated topic in contemporary economic literature as well as in the public sphere. After years of almost uninterrupted economic growth, one might wonder to which extend modern societies have truly benefit. Put differently, did economic growth keep its promises of improving the human lot2? The question may well sound as granted, but the answer is not! Safer and quicker communications, longer, healthier and more comfortable lives, eradication of a large number of illnesses and better access to education for all are some of the most important benefits brought about by economic growth. All these benefits are usually well summarized by traditional income-based measures of well-being, such as gross domestic product (GDP) (Blanchflower, 2008), the most widely adopted index to account for the well-being of a nation. However, it only captures parts of a broader story. If we consider our daily life experience, we easily realize many other dimensions affect well-being, which are not necessarily directly related to economic growth (Nussbaum and Sen, 1993; Diener and Seligman, 2004).