INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES: SOCIAL CAPITAL'S ROLE IN KEEPING YOUTH IN SCHOOL.

Discusses an approach to economic development through the enhancement of the local labor force's human capital based on formal education. Use of a social capital framework for analyzing how local institutions affect educational achievement among public school students; Exploration of how social capital in the broader community context mediates the effects of family and school social capital on keeping students in school; Use of hierarchical linear models for estimating social contributions; Affirmation of the role of family social capital.