In the context of any country, which one of the following would be considered as part of its social capital?
Show answer
Answer: D. Social capital refers to the networks, trust, cooperation and shared norms in a society that help people work together. So the level of mutual trust and harmony is part of social capital.
Watch for: Literacy and the working-age population feel 'social', but they belong to human capital.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong because literacy is part of human capital.
- B. Wrong because buildings and machines are physical capital.
- C. Wrong because working-age population is a demographic or human resource measure.
Source to check: World Bank, 'Social Capital' overview; NCERT Class 12 Indian Economic Development, Chapter 5 'Human Capital Formation in India' (for the contrast with human capital)
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.