Social capital, financial crises and health

Alleviating poverty is among the most laudable aim of the Millennium Development Goals. However, policies aimed at alleviating poverty could only be successful if they are underpinned by clear understanding of mechanisms which contribute to poverty incidences and distributions. This study seeks to investigate the effect of major cap-italist crises, such as the Asian financial crisis on health distribution and access; and how neighbourhodd social capital, as one of the resources available to all rich and poor, mediates this relationship. The need to focus on major crisis is derived from an understanding that severe crises are very much a feature of modern capitalism. Neighbourhood social capital is often claimed beneficial for health. I draw upon Grossman health production model and Blume-Brock-Durlauf social interaction model to examine the effects of neighbourhood social capital on individual mental health.