This book provides an account of the current understanding of social capital. It covers both theoretical and empirical studies, and the concept is debated throughout. Also included in this volume is the classic 1987 article by the late James Coleman, 'Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital', which formed the basis for the development of social capital as an organizing concept in the social sciences. The volume is divided into areas that cover the analytical foundations and institutional and statistical analyses of social capital.