The High Cost of Cheap Social Capital Revisited

Please join Professor Lindon Robison and Tristan Claridge on March 22, 2023 webinar, as we revisit our 2021 discussion of cheap social capital. Since introducing the concept of cheap social capital in our earlier webinar, Professor Robison has written two important papers on the subject and has made these available on the Institute for Social Capital’s website. In our March 22, 2023 webinar, we will discuss these papers, The Cheap Side of Social Capital and the High Cost of Cheap Social Capital and revisit our discussion of the connections between social capital and cheap social capital, what explains the popularity of cheap social capital and why it is cheap, how to recognize cheap social capital networks, and how to mitigate the high cost of cheap social capital.

About the presenter:

Dr. Lindon J. Robison has recently retired. He was a Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics (AFRE) in the tenure stream at Michigan State University from 1977 to 2021. He holds a B.S. degree from Utah State University, an M.S. degree from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. degree from Texas A&M University. He has published numerous books and articles, including the text for the department’s capstone Agri-business management course 435, which he also taught. He also taught AFRE graduate courses in calculus for economists, mathematical statistics, and mathematical programming. He has consulted for governments, firms, and international organizations such as the World Bank, particularly in Latin America. He has worked for the US Government as an agricultural economist, has been a visiting faculty member at Brigham Young University, the University of Minnesota, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala Sweden. He has won many academic awards including Best Ph.D. thesis for his work on risk and portfolio management of rural banks and in 2012 was made a fellow of the Institutional and Behavioral Economics section of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA). His most frequently cited works include The Competitive Firm’s Response to Risk which he authored with Peter J. Barry and “Is Social Capital Really Capital?” which he authored with Allan A. Schmid and Marcelo E. Siles. His pioneering research focuses on the role of social capital (relationships of caring, trust, and regard) on establishing the terms and level of trade—that has been applied to minimum sell land and car prices, the likelihood of loan approval, and medical screen decisions. His most recent publications describe social capital motives and distinguish between relational goods and commodities.

This event may be recorded, and the recording made available on Youtube for public viewing. You may change your screen name and turn off your camera and microphone to maintain anonymity. You can find out more in our Privacy Policy.