Abstract

DE OLIVEIRA BOFF, Emmanoel  and  FLEISCHHAUER CORREA DA COSTA, Mariana. Estud. Econ. [online]. 2015, vol.32, n.65, pp. 19-46. ISSN 2525-1295.

Could social capital help induce sustainable development? Is it possible to assess if and how much an increase in social capital is correlated with the predisposition to preserve an environmental public good? These are the questions that this paper seeks to answer with a study conducted with 566 residents surrounding the river Suruí in Magé, in Baixada Fluminense, in the first half of 2011. Through OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) and quantile regressions, this research shows that there is a positive correlation between social capital, the income of the residents and WTP (Willingness To Pay) to preserve the river Suruí. The work also shows how WTP can be measured indirectly, based on days of work that the respondent would be willing to give to help save the river, performing a specific regression to this case.

Keywords : Social Capital; Willingness to Pay; Sustainable Development; Environmental Valuation.