Social Cohesion and Economic Prosperity

Jeff Karabanow is an assistant professor in the Maritime School of
Social Work at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Jeff Dayton-Johnson presents a thoughtful and readable discussion of the
important role social cohesion—the sense of trusting one’s
neighbor—plays in economic growth. Several chapters deal with the
meaning of social capital and its relationship to economic growth, at
both an individual and a nation-state level. The author highlights
health and education as forces of economic growth. He concludes that
social cohesion fosters healthy environments and educational
investments. Conversely, economic inequality is damaging to health and
educational outcomes, and leads to a fraying of social cohesion.

Dayton-Johnson believes that government can enhance social cohesion,
and thus economic growth, through policies that favor such elements as
community development, employment security, social safety nets, and safe
schools and neighborhoods. “[K]nitted warmth among people,” he
writes, “has an economic payoff.” His book is recommended for
policymakers and those with an interest in economics and community
development.