Linking social capital with human capital: A study of oil palm labour in Malaysia
Abstract
Oil palm labour decline since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 demonstrates the urgent need to increase, develop and strengthen local oil palm labour and human capital. However, there are few studies on the development of human capital within the social context, i.e. social capital context, which is the sociological approach to study human capital in relation to social capital. Based on sociologically based social capital theories by Coleman and Granovetter in this article discusses some findings from a recent qualitative study that conducted interviews on some oil palm smallholders involved in oil palm production in Malaysia. The research objectives are 1) to evaluate the link between social capital and human capital in terms of how social capital creates human capital and 2) to identify the kinds of social and human capital. By applying thematic analysis, some key findings are that particular kinds of social capital such as social networks, trust, and shared norms and values develop and sustain particular kinds of human capital such as knowledge, skills and experiences relating to oil palm production. The findings have implication in terms of policy making emphasising on social context to create and sustain oil palm labour and human capital for sustainable oil palm sector growth in Malaysia.
Keywords: Human capital, oil palm labour, oil palm sustainability, social capital, social networks
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