School of Economics and Finance<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social capital is the value that comes from networking and social connectedness, such as finding out about a good sale or a potential job opportunity. It can be thought of as the networks and linkages between people along which information flows. \u2018Just think of social capital as the people you know, and the people they know, and how all those connections between you help you to get better outcomes,\u2019 said Dr Matt Roskruge from the School of Economics and Finance, who is co-director of Te Au Rangahau M\u0101ori Business Research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social capital is a well-established contributor to economic and social wellbeing; however, it is rarely studied using frameworks outside of the dominant Western paradigm. The measures and pathways are meaningful for those from European backgrounds but do not appear to reflect M\u0101ori realities. This is an urgent issue, as M\u0101ori continue to be disadvantaged in terms of socio-economic statistics, racism and discrimination. This means that social capital measures and activation pathways often fail to reflect the experiences of M\u0101ori, limiting the use of social capital to improve M\u0101ori lives and grow the M\u0101ori economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Roskruge was recently awarded a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship to conduct research into helping M\u0101ori get the best out of social capital. His research programme will introduce m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori (M\u0101ori knowledge systems) and the Aotearoa New Zealand context to existing frameworks of social capital, which will create a by-M\u0101ori, for-M\u0101ori understanding of the concept. Questions will include what does social capital look like for M\u0101ori? How is it accumulated? How is it activated? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018One of the things that we kept finding early on in my research is that M\u0101ori kept getting really high measures of social capital, yet we know there\u2019s pretty stubborn lower socio- economic outcomes,\u2019 said Dr Roskruge. \u2018I moved from being an economist who happened to be M\u0101ori, to being a M\u0101ori economist. I\u2019m interested in how social capital manifests for M\u0101ori, and whether it looks the same as for P\u0101keh\u0101 or looks quite different. I want to know how our approach to social relationships helps us all work together, and how M\u0101ori use social capital to achieve socio-economic success and navigate colonial institutions. It will result in a model that is created with M\u0101ori knowledge, and then tested back with communities.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
To look at how M\u0101ori activate social capital to achieve positive outcomes, two case studies will be used. The first builds on previous work on the success of M\u0101ori who identify as takat\u0101pui (LGBTQI+). Here Dr Roskruge aims to see how takat\u0101pui use M\u0101ori social capital to successfully achieve good health in the face of complex and at times discriminatory institutions. The second case study will have a regional focus, looking at how M\u0101ori, particularly rangatahi (young people), can use their social capital to successfully enter sustainable, secure and meaningful employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The focus of the research will then shift to the role of M\u0101ori social capital and infrastructure as we move into a fourth industrial revolution characterised by increased digitisation, automation and globalisation. \u2018It\u2019s a big change in the way in which industry does its thing,\u2019 said Dr Roskruge, \u2018and that also then should subsequently result in sociological change, in the same way as the second or third industrial revolutions. Previous industrial revolutions moved everybody into cities, resulting in urbanisation. Will this one lead to everybody migrating back out into the countryside because they don\u2019t need to be physically in an office working anymore? Could more automation lead to a drop in the price of products? Could people work less but still maintain the same quality of life? How will marae and social infrastructure survive this push towards digitisation and global cultural norms? And how are we going to use social capital where there\u2019s technology change?\u2019 Here, the research will look at how M\u0101ori social capital, and social infrastructure, can survive and thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, the project will work to find a way to get more M\u0101ori into tertiary economics education. \u2018In university there might be four or five M\u0101ori economics lecturers and researchers, and there\u2019s a couple of PhDs,\u2019 said Dr Roskruge, \u2018but I usually have only one M\u0101ori student in my economics courses, and sometimes none. So there\u2019s a piece of work that I\u2019m weaving into this project around trying to get that critical mass up. Because otherwise we are relying on government departments and non-M\u0101ori to do the economics research for us.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DR MATT ROSKRUGE Te \u0100tiawa, Ng\u0101ti Tama School of Economics and Finance Social capital is the value that comes from networking and social connectedness, such as finding out about a good sale or a potential job opportunity. It can be thought of as the networks and linkages between people along which information flows. \u2018Just think … Continue reading M\u0101ori social capital<\/span>