ABSTRACT
Robert Putnam, the noted political scientist, credits Coleman in his book on local governments in Italy (1993), as does Fukuyama (1995) in his book on trust, with developing the theoretical framework for present conceptions of social capital. However, Putnam (1995b) maintains that the current understanding of social capital was first introduced by Jane Jacobs in 1961 in her book on American cities. Both Putnam and Fukuyama, in their interpretations of Coleman's notion of social capital, define it as a set of relationships that enhances the ability of people to work for a common good.
