Does Social Capital Matter in the Well-Being of Rural People?: A Study in the Central Province of Sri Lanka

Social capital has widely been discussed among scholars and practitioners as an important resource in creating well-being. But research conducted on social capital in Sri Lankan societies has not been much and hence, it is an inadequately discussed concept locally. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the relevance of social capital in creating well-being in the selected local scenario of rural areas in the Central Province. A positive relationship was hypothesized between the two variables. The sample size was 420 individuals and multi stage stratified random sampling was adopted. Questionnaire was the data collection tool. The weighted principle component was used to develop indices for social capital and well-being. A bivariate correlation matrix and a simple regression Model were developed to examine the association. A significant and positive association was found, but the strength of the association was only moderate. Also, social capital explained only a small variation of well-being. Therefore, this research concluded that though social capital contributed significantly to well-being, it has not been able develop a strong association by itself; the other types of capital embedded in social relationship were also important. The prevailing rural characteristics of poverty and deficient diversity in social relationships were explained as major factors that weakened the strength of the association between social capital and well-being.

Key words: Social capital; well-being

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/tar.v22i3.3702  

Tropical Agricultural Research 22(3) (2011) 296-304