Theoretical debate on the relationship between the quality of government, social capital and corruption remains underspecified in relation to the analysis of local governance. This paper asks how quality of government (QoG) impacts on the role of social capital (SC), and how SC connects with corruption in the local governance context. The paper develops a local governance approach in order to better understand this relationship through an in-depth qualitative case-study of the governance of Batkhela Bazaar in Malakand District of Pakistan. Three findings emerge: Firstly, the results demonstrate how QoG and socioeconomic inequalities shape the context for SC development and its role in corruption, which feeds into the poor QoG. Secondly, unlike the existing mainstream literature, the results show the fundamental importance of petty corruption to levels of trust within a society. Thirdly, reciprocity plays a crucial role in maintaining trusting ties in the context of ineffective formal institutions.

与地方治理分析相比，关于政府质量、社会资本和腐败之间关系的理论争论仍然不够明确。本文探讨了政府质量 (QoG) 如何影响社会资本 (SC) 的作用，以及社会资本如何与地方治理背景下的腐败联系起来。本文开发了一种地方治理方法，以便通过对巴基斯坦 Malakand 区 Batkhela Bazaar 治理的深入定性案例研究，更好地理解这种关系。出现了三个发现：首先，结果证明了政府质量和社会经济不平等如何塑造可持续发展的背景及其在腐败中的作用，腐败导致了糟糕的政府质量。其次，不同于现有的主流文学，结果表明，轻微腐败对社会信任水平的根本重要性。第三，在正规机构无效的情况下，互惠在维持信任关系方面起着至关重要的作用。