Since 2001, a new research on social capital and regional development is further enriching the CERT expertise on regional development and technological innovation. After Putnam's ground-breaking work on social capital, and following the increasing attention that international organisations (European Commission, OECD, World Bank) have addressed to this new concept, CERT has put in place an articulated research project aimed at shedding light on the geographical distribution of social capital, on its determinants and, in particular, on the role played by social capital in favouring economic development. A first study, based on an empirical examination of data from the World Value Study (WVS) and the European Social Survey (ESS), shows that 'self-reported' measures of social capital in the EU-25 are significantly and inversely correlated to measures of economic inequality. This evidence complements Putnam's theory and demonstrates that, though the 'past-dependence' explanation still holds its explanatory power, other micro and macro-economic causes may account for the recent decline in social capital observed in some developed countries. [Since 2001, a new research on social capital and regional development is further enriching the CERT expertise on regional development and technological innovation. After Putnam's ground-breaking work on social capital, and following the increasing attention that international organisations (European Commission, OECD, World Bank) have addressed to this new concept, CERT has put in place an articulated research project aimed at shedding light on the geographical distribution of social capital, on its determinants and, in particular, on the role played by social capital in favouring economic development. A first study, based on an empirical examination of data from the World Value Study (WVS) and the European Social Survey (ESS), shows that 'self-reported' measures of social capital in the EU-25 are significantly and inversely correlated to measures of economic inequality. This evidence complements Putnam's theory and demonstrates that, though the 'past-dependence' explanation still holds its explanatory power, other micro and macro-economic causes may account for the recent decline in social capital observed in some developed countries. ]