Social Capital Typologies and Sustainable Development: Spatial Patterns in the Central and Southern Regions of Malawi

Bonding, bridging and linking social capital can be a useful mechanism to promote sustainable development in low-income countries. Social capital typologies vary spatially, with the rural poor having a specific combination. Similarly, bonding, bridging and linking social capital’s association with sustainable development is also likely to differ spatially across a country, but there is limited research in low-income countries. This study aims to improve understanding of the spatial variation of bonding, bridging and linking social capital in low-income countries using Malawi as a case study. Using secondary data and spatial statistics, including kriging and geographically weighted regression, we explore the spatial variation of social capital typologies and their spatial associations with various sustainable development indicators. There were three key combinations of bonding, bridging and linking social capital, which differ from the standard model of social capital typologies for the rural poor. We also found social capital’s association with sustainable development indicators depends on the social capital typology, study area and the sustainable development indicator in question. With this in mind, development practitioners, researchers and policymakers should aim to understand the specific social capital context prior to sustainable development research or project implementation.