Social capital and quality of life: a comparative study of Delhi (India) and Tehran (Iran)

Abstract

The common goal of development programs in every society is to improve the quality of life. The future of individuals life depends on better understanding of factors impact on their quality of life. Parts of these factors are related to the quality and quantity of one s relationships with others, formal and informal groups, and institutions; that is expressed as social capital. Expanding these ties and networks promote the accessibility of economic and social resources. In other words, these ties in its different forms act as type of glue and results in a better utilisation of social resources and decrease in social expenses. A number of studies have shown that inefficiency in most of the economic, political, and social plans that have been executed in some of regions are related to the condition of the relations and ties present among those people with each other, with official organizations, and the norms that stabilized them. Therefore, we could claim that the quality of life, in its different dimensions, is under the influence of the quality of communications and social ties. The cities of Tehran and Delhi, as the country s capital, with excellent employment opportunities and as socio-political forefront of both developing countries have attracted people from all over the both countries, and have located numerous tribal and religious groups that co-exist in splendid plural harmony. This has created an asymmetrical composition regarding the quality of life and social capital forms. Lack of knowledge about these characteristics always hinders the insights to gain the proper outcomes for quality of life development programs for both countries policy makers. Herein, the main purpose of the current study was to explain the relationship between social capital and quality of life and comparing the quality of life differences according to the level of social capital in different localities of Delhi (India) and Tehran (Iran).