Social capital and technical information flows in the Ghanaian manufacturing sector

Authors
Citation
A. Barr, Social capital and technical information flows in the Ghanaian manufacturing sector, OX ECON PAP, 52(3), 2000, pp. 539-559
Citations number
21
Categorie Soggetti
Economics
Journal title
OXFORD ECONOMIC PAPERS-NEW SERIES
ISSN journal
00307653 → ACNP
Volume
52
Issue
3
Year of publication
2000
Pages
539 - 559
Database
ISI
SICI code
0030-7653(200007)52:3<539:SCATIF>2.0.ZU;2-N
Abstract
Social capital in the form of entrepreneurial networks is found to be a det erminant of Ghanaian manufacturing enterprise performance. Entrepreneurs wi th larger, more diverse sets of contacts have more productive enterprises. Entrepreneurs also benefit from the networking activity of others. There is some evidence that the networks facilitate flows of knowledge between ente rprises. A simple theoretical model indicates that where such flows take pl ace, there is a potential for sustained endogenous economic growth. However , in Ghana, the flows are not sufficiently complementary to the enterprises ' own knowledge for this potential to be realized.