SEC Academic Forum, Lecture 75, Mar. 21

Posted by:黄小婷Release Date:2018-03-19Views:336


Title: Does Social Capital Empower Remote Chinese Villagers to Improve their Well-Being?

Speaker: Associate Professor Renuka Mahadevan (The University of Queensland, Australia)

Time: Wednesday, Mar. 21, 2018, 10:30am

Venue: Room 202, south Wing, B10 Building, University Town Campus


Introduction:

Associate Professor Renuka Mahadevan focuses on empirical work concerning policy issues in the Asia-Pacific region. She has a strong background in applied empirical and economic analysis dealing with policy issues in macroeconomic uncertainty and volatility, international trade and development, productivity growth, poverty and income inequality, and agricultural reform.


Evidence that social capital is more (less) significant than income in improving subjective (objective) well-being calls for a recalibration in the policy balance between targeting social capital and addressing poverty. Social capital affects well-being through different channels depending on whether it provides marketable or non-marketable returns. For instance, renqing and community integration in the form of social networks improve objective well-being (OWB) while social capital in the form of trust boosts subjective well-being (SWB). Age too has different effects on SWB and OWB. While an older person is more satisfied with life, there is however a struggle in owning material things. The lack of correlation between SWB and OWB measures further complicates the policy debate. A robust approach to understanding and enhancing well-being in rural remote areas should thus be an urgent priority in regional policy analyses.