•  
  •  
 

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between social capital and conflict in the post Suharto regime in Indonesia. We employed a combination of cross-section datasets from the Social and Cultural Module of the 2009 National Socio- Economic Survey (SUSENAS) and the media-based conflict data from National Violence Monitoring System (NVMS) of 2010–2014 in Indonesia. Using Binomial Negative Regression, our empirical analysis shows that the past social capital stocks negatively correlate with future conflict intensity. This pattern applies to most conflict types. This result indicates that the social capital stock in 2009 is more likely to be the starting point determining the conflict vulnerability in the subsequent period. Furthermore, the evaluation of the components of social capital reveals that the most crucial type of social capital is trust in neighbors, the government, and local officials. The district with high trust is less prone to conflict.

References

[1] Alcorta, L, Smits, J, Swedlund, HJ & de Jong, E 2020, ‘The ‘dark side’ of social capital: A cross national examination of the relationship between social capital and violence in Africa’, Social Indicators Research, vol. 149, no. 2, pp. 445- 465. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-019-02264-z.

[2] Angrist, JD & Pischke, JS 2009, Mostly harmless econometrics: An empiricist’s companion, Princeton university press.

[3] Arifin, EN, Ananta, A, Utami, DRWW, Handayani, NB & Pramono, A 2015, ‘Quantifying Indonesia’s ethnic diversity: Statistics at national, provincial, and district levels’, Asian Population Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 233-256. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17441730.2015.1090692.

[4] Avdeenko, A & Gilligan, MJ 2015, ‘International interventions to build social capital: Evidence from a field experiment in Sudan’, American Political Science Review, vol. 109, no. 3, pp. 427-449. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055415000210.

[5] Baker, FB & Kim, SH 2004, Item response theory: Parameter estimation techniques, CRC Press.

[6] Barron, P, Diprose, R, Madden, D, Smith, CQ & Woolcock, M 2004, ‘Do participatory development projects help villagers manage local conflicts?: a mixed methods approach to assessing the kecamatan development project, Indonesia’, CPR Working Papers, 9. Social Development Department - Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Network. viewed 24 May 2021, .

[7] Bauer, M, Blattman, C, Chytilová, J, Henrich, J, Miguel, E & Mitts, T 2016, ‘Can war foster cooperation?’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 249-274. doi: https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.30.3.249.

[8] Bleaney, M & Dimico, A 2017, ‘Ethnic diversity and conflict’, Journal of Institutional Economics, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 357- 378. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744137416000369.

[9] Brehm, J & Rahn, W 1997, ‘Individual-level evidence for the causes and consequences of social capital’, American Journal of Political Science, vol. 41, no. 3, pp.999-1023. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/2111684.

[10] Camacho, LA 2014, ‘The effects of conditional cash transfers on social engagement and trust in institutions: Evidence from Peru’s Juntos programme’, Discussion Paper 24/2014, German Development Institute. viewed 30 January 2021, .

[11] Cameron, L & Shah, M 2014, ‘Can mistargeting destroy social capital and stimulate crime? Evidence from a cash transfer program in Indonesia’, Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 381-415. doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/674102.

[12] Cassar, A, Grosjean, P & Whitt, S 2013, ‘Legacies of violence: Trust and market development’, Journal of Economic Growth, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 285-318. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-013-9091-3.

[13] Cunningham, S 2021, Causal inference: The mixtape, Yale University Press.

[14] De Luca, G & Verpoorten, M 2015, ‘Civil war and political participation: Evidence from Uganda’, Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 113-141. doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/682957.

[15] Deng, LB 2010, ‘Social capital and civil war: The Dinka communities in Sudan’s civil war’, African Affairs, vol. 109, no. 435, pp. 231-250. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/afraf/adq001.

[16] Dinesen, C, Ronsbo, H, Juárez, C, González, M, Estrada Méndez, MÁ, & Modvig, J 2013, ‘Violence and social capital in post-conflict Guatemala’, Revista Panamericana de Salud Publica/Pan American Journal of Public Health, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 162-168.

[17] Evans, DK & Kosec, K 2020, ‘Do cash transfers reduce trust and informal transfers within communities?’, IFPRI Discussion Paper, 01994, International Food Policy Research Institute. doi: https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134236.

[18] Evans, DK, Holtemeyer, B & Kosec, K 2019, ‘Cash transfers increase trust in local government’, World Development, vol. 114, pp. 138-155. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.08.020.

[19] Fávero, LPL, Belfiore, P, dos Santos, MA, & Souza, RF 2020, ‘Overdisp: A stata (and Mata) package for direct detection of overdispersion in poisson and negative binomial regression models’, Statistics, Optimization & Information Computing, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 773-789. doi: https://doi.org/10.19139/SOIC-2310-5070-557.

[20] Fischer, GH & Molenaar, IW (eds.) 2012, Rasch models: Foundations, recent developments, and applications, Springe-Verlag.

[21] Goodhand, J, Hulme, D & Lewer, N 2000, ‘Social capital and the political economy of violence: A case study of Sri Lanka’, Disasters, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 390-406. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7717.00155.

[22] Hanna, R & Olken, BA 2018, ‘Universal basic incomes versus targeted transfers: Anti-poverty programs in developing countries’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 201-226. doi: https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.32.4.201.

[23] Hansen-Nord, NS, Kjaerulf, F, Almendarez, J, Rodas, VM & Castro, J 2016, ‘Reducing violence in poor urban areas of Honduras by building community resilience through community-based interventions’, International Journal of Public Health, vol. 61, no. 8, pp. 935-943. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0854-4.

[24] Ingelaere, B & Verpoorten, M 2016, Inter-ethnic trust in the aftermath of mass violence: Insights from large-N life histories, IOB Working Paper, 2016.03, Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp. viewed 20 May 2021, .

[25] Iyigun, M 2005, ‘Geography, demography, and early development’, Journal of Population Economics, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 301-321. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-004-0212- 3.

[26] Lederman, D, Loayza, N & Menéndez, AM 2002, ‘Violent crime: Does social capital matter?’, Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 509-539. doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/342422.

[27] Legatum Institute Foundation 2020, Indonesia: Ranks 63rd on the Legatum Prosperity Index™. viewed 19 April 2021, .

[28] Mavridis, D 2015, ‘Ethnic diversity and social capital in Indonesia’, World Development, vol. 67, pp. 376-395. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.10.028.

[29] McIlwaine, C & Moser, CON 2001, ‘Violence and social capital in urban poor communities: Perspectives from Colombia and Guatemala’, Journal of International Development, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 965-984. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.815.

[30] Montalvo, JG & Reynal-Querol, M 2005, ‘Ethnic polarization, potential conflict, and civil wars’, American Economic Review, vol. 95, no. 3, pp. 796-816. doi: 10.1257/0002828054201468.

[31] Muzayanah, IFU, Nazara, S, Mahi, BR, & Hartono, D 2020, ‘Is there social capital in cities? The association of urban form and social capital formation in the metropolitan cities of Indonesia’, International Journal of Urban Sciences, vol. 24, no.4, pp. 532-556. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/12265934.2020.1730934.

[32] Ostrom, E & Ahn, TK 2009, ‘The meaning of social capital and its link to collective action’, In GT Svendsen & GLH Svendsen (Eds.), Handbook of social capital: the troika of sociology, political science and economics (pp. 17-35), Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781848447486.00008.

[33] Pearl, J 2009, Causality, Cambridge University Press.

[34] Portes, A 1998, ‘Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology, Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 1-24. doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.1.

[35] Putnam, RD 1993, Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy, Princeton University Press.

[36] Putnam, RD (ed) 2002, Democracies in flux: The evolution of social capital in contemporary society, Oxford University Press.

[37] Robison, LJ, Schmid, AA & Siles, ME 2002, ‘Is social capital really capital?’, Review of Social Economy, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 1-21. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00346760110127074.

[38] Rubio, M 1997, ‘Perverse social capital - Some evidence from Colombia’, Journal of Economic Issues, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 805-816. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00213624.1997.11505966.

[39] Sanjaya, MR 2022, ‘New evidence on ethnic diversity and social capital in Indonesia’, Jurnal Ekonomi & Studi Pembangunan, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 35-50. doi: https://doi.org/10.18196/jesp.v23i1.13863.

[40] Schaub, M 2014, ‘Solidarity with a sharp edge: Communal conflict and local collective action in rural Nigeria’, HiCN Working Paper, 183, Households in Conflict Network. viewed 20 May 2021, .

[41] Siddiq, I 2005, Ethnic conflict in Indonesia: Causes and recommended measures (Master’s thesis, Monterey California. Naval Postgraduate School).

[42] Tadjoeddin, MZ & Murshed, SM 2007, ‘Socio-economic determinants of everyday violence in Indonesia: An empirical investigation of Javanese districts, 1994-2003’, Journal of Peace Research, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 689-709. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343307082063.

[43] Tadjoeddin, MZ, Suharyo, WI & Mishra, S 2001, ‘Regional disparity and vertical conflict in Indonesia’, Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 283-304. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13547860120097368.

[44] Uphoff, N 2000, ‘Understanding social capital: Learning from the analysis and experience of participation’, in P Dasgupta & I Serageldin (Eds.), Social capital: a multifaceted perspective (pp. 215-249), The World Bank.

[45] Van Der Gaag, M & Webber, M 2008, ‘Measurement of individual social capital: Questions, instruments, and measures’, in Kawachi, I, Subramanian, S, & Kim, D (eds.), Social Capital and Health (pp. 29-49), Springer. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71311-3_2.

[46] Varshney, A, Panggabean, R & Tadjoeddin, MZ 2004, ‘Patterns of collective violence in Indonesia (1990-2003)’, UNSFIR Working Paper, 04/03, United Nations Support Facility for Indonesian Recovery. viewed 7 May 2021, .

[47] Yumna, A & Suryahadi, A 2015, ‘The impact of rising inequality on conflict and crime in Indonesia: What does the evidence say?’, SMERU Policy Brief, 2, The SMERU Research Institute. viewed 24 May 2021, .

Download

Share

COinS