Journal of Economic Literature
Book Reviews
2026-08-28
Paul J. Zak of Claremont Graduate University reviews “Brokerage and Closure: An Introduction to Social Capital” by Ronald S. Burt,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Provides an introduction to social capital in the form of four reliable and general stylized facts that seem to apply across study populations. Pays special attention to the context of organizations and managers. Suggests that informal organizations consist of dense social clusters, or groups, between which there are occasional bridge relations when someone in one group has a friend, acquaintance, or former colleague in another group; opinion and practice vary more between than within groups due to structural holes in the flow of information across groups; and people whose networks spans structural holes are brokers and are rewarded for their integrative work. Describes how people whose relationships bridge structural holes are more likely to encounter new ideas, create good ideas, as well as express, discuss, and see how to implement ideas. Discusses network closures, which increase the odds of a person being caught and punished for displaying belief or behavior inconsistent with preferences in the closed network, and introduces the reputation mechanism by which network closure provides trust. Assesses the evidence for the “echo” hypothesis, which says that closed networks do not enhance information flow so much as they amplify existing opinion, and describes how the reputation mechanism for control… Index.”