The Economics of Social Capital: Cultural Practices, Nationalism, Tolerance, and Household Helping Behavior in Aceh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70716/ecoma.v4i3.786Keywords:
Cultural Practices, Nationalism, Social Tolerance, Helping Behavior, Social Capital, Informal EconomyAbstract
Mutual assistance among households is one area that reflects the critical need for social capital in society—such as trust, shared norms, and collective memory manifested in the form of assistance that others can tangibly experience. From an economic perspective, this mutual assistance functions as a crucial informal safety net, reducing transaction costs and mitigating economic vulnerabilities. This study examines these dynamics by estimating the relationship between cultural practices, nationalism, and social tolerance using a measure of helping behavior among households in Aceh, Indonesia. This analysis uses a logistic regression model with household-level microdata from the 2021 and 2024 SUSENAS conducted by BPS, which included 2,903 and 2,914 observations. The results show that in 2021, cultural practices and nationalism were positively correlated with mutual aid behavior, while tolerance was not statistically significant. In 2024, the relationship between cultural practices and nationalism remained robustly positive, while tolerance showed a negative relationship. In 2024, the relationship between cultural practices and nationalism remained robustly positive, while tolerance showed a negative relationship. A key implication of mutual aid is that it reflects active community support. These findings encourage the public and the government to strengthen social cohesion by facilitating helping behavior within communities. This can be achieved if social activities address issues of social cohesion and promote local wisdom, nationalism, and tolerance to achieve inclusive community development.
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