Explanatory Factors of Social Capital in the West of the State of Santa Catarina (Brazil)

The social capital concept relating to the economic development of regions and countries began to gain importance in 1990. This research aims to measure the levels of social capital in three regions of the Far West State of Santa Catarina (Itapiranga, São Miguel do Oeste, and Dionísio Cerqueira). The choice of these regions stems from the fact that they are part of one of the programs promoted by the Regional Program of the Ministry of National Integration Secretariat (the Program for Promotion of Border Range Development). A survey was conducted to reach the objective of this project. The data were submitted to statistical analysis using factor analysis and analysis of variance. The results show three types of social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking) on the three levels of analysis (micro, meso, and macro).