Social capital and agricultural innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa

In this paper we use a novel and extensive dataset to explore the association between different forms of social capital and innovation in agriculture, for a sample of African countries. We find mixed evidence. While structural social capital, especially in the form of connections beyond the village, is associated with more extensive adoption of innovations, the reverse is true for cognitive social capital (capturing shared norms and trust within the local community). (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.