The Impacts of Social Capital on Private Enterprise Investment: An Empirical Study in East China Coastal Cities.

Using the data of private listed companies in east China coastal cities from 2009 to 2014, this paper empirically tested the impact of social capital on investment of private enterprises in east coastal areas within the context of economic transformation. The results show that political connections, financial relations, and commercial association relations have significant impacts on private enterprise investment in east China coastal cities. However, with the increasingly fair competition market environment and the anti-corruption activities, it finds that the influence of hierarchical social capital (such as political relations) on private enterprise investment in east China coastal cities is gradually decreasing, while market based social capital (such as business association relations) still maintains a significant positive impact on private enterprise investment in east China coastal cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]