Economists traditionally claim that free markets are the key to prosperity. Now many are coming to realize the importance of the social relationships that underpin all human activities--including the marketplace.

Drawing on an array of new economic studies, this book explains the concept of social cohesion and explores its impact on economic performance. It includes case studies linking social cohesion to workplace productivity, school quality, health and the welfare of children. Later chapters examine the origin of social cohesion and the factors that favour or diminish it, with special attention to the fate of social cohesion in the globalizing world.

Social Cohesion and Economic Prosperity examines our increasingly frayed social fabric and explores ways in which an emphasis on social cohesion can promote a happier and more prosperous society.

JEFF DAYTON-JOHNSON is assistant professor of economics and international development studies at Dalhousie University, Halifax, where he is also coordinator of the Master of Development Economics Program. He has taught and lectured on social cohesion in Canada, the US and Eastern Europe, and has also written on community-based management of natural resources in Mexico and elsewhere.

Jeff Dayton-Johnson's profile page