Abstract
The purpose of this article is to show the association between the social capital and the local public policies through a comparative study between the amount of social capital in Vale do Rio dos Sinos Council of Development (Corede) and Novo Hamburgo city, that belongs to Corede. Our working hypothesis suggests that the social capital, proper from the local political culture in this region and city, constitutes itself into an ally to political institutions, because it is associated to a positive evaluation of municipal public policies. The methodology uses the results of two quantitative surveys, a kind of home survey applied in Corede, in 2007, and in Novo Hamburgo city in 2012, with random samples, totalizing about 1.200 questionnaires, with a sampling error of 4% and confidence of 95%, as well as a documentary research on the City Halls' sites, IBGE, TCE and FEE.
Keywords
social capital; institutions; political culture
