Evaluating Social Capital in Rio's Favelas: A Case Study of Social Capital to Evaluate Community Development in Rio's Favelas

The purpose of this paper was to define social capital and to create a framework to measure the effects of social capital in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. For six months, two NGOs and one community project served as a case study to determine how social capital aided in development. I found that social capital can be conceptualized in three steps. The first is to identify a development initiative. The second is to pool, share, and exchange resources. Finally, the third step is to use those resources to produce development. I theorize that social capital is not complete unless it concludes with development. I also determine that measurement of social capital is possible if one pays specific attention the frequency of interaction between the actors involved in the development process.