Social Capital, Management Capacity and Public Service Performance Evidence from the US States

Many scholars and policy-makers contend that social capital and management capacity are associated with better public services. It is also likely that organizations with the capacity to manage effective co-production are better able to realize these benefits. To test these assumptions, we explore the independent and combined effects of social capital and management capacity on the performance of major public services in the US states using Robert Putnam's index of social capital and the Government Performance Project's index of state management capacity. We find that social capital is associated with higher performing public services, and that strong management capacity enhances its positive effects.