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Measuring the returns to networking and the accumulation of social capital: any evidence of bonding, bridging or linking?

Measuring the returns to networking and the accumulation of social capital: any evidence of bonding, bridging or linking?
Measuring the returns to networking and the accumulation of social capital: any evidence of bonding, bridging or linking?
This article presents analyses of individual investment in social capital using both the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the UK Time Use Survey (2000) (UKTUS). We suggest a general theoretical framework that could possibly explain individual investment in various forms of social networking. Measures of social capital are then constructed in an attempt to capture the extent of individual investment in bonding, bridging, and linking networks. These measures, together with other socioeconomic indicators, are used as explanatory factors in wage equations, estimated using ordered probit, OLS, and instrumental variable approaches. We are unable to identify any consistent returns from investment in bonding and bridging networks. In contrast, the evidence suggests that any returns to investment in the development of linking social capital simply derive from the positive signals that group membership may transmit to potential employers. Our results underline the contrast between studies that consider social capital as an attribute of communities, as opposed to individuals, in that we find a negative return to social activity at the level of the individual.
0002-9246
941-968
Urwin, Peter
2d27b7d7-bbcd-4658-b8cb-80836cd9257b
Di Pietro, Giorgio
eab7d5e6-e159-4093-a452-b22ad4402253
Sturgis, Patrick
b9f6b40c-50d2-4117-805a-577b501d0b3c
Jack, Gregor
f29411ff-cab1-4690-9a9a-e38c4b3ea193
Urwin, Peter
2d27b7d7-bbcd-4658-b8cb-80836cd9257b
Di Pietro, Giorgio
eab7d5e6-e159-4093-a452-b22ad4402253
Sturgis, Patrick
b9f6b40c-50d2-4117-805a-577b501d0b3c
Jack, Gregor
f29411ff-cab1-4690-9a9a-e38c4b3ea193

Urwin, Peter, Di Pietro, Giorgio, Sturgis, Patrick and Jack, Gregor (2008) Measuring the returns to networking and the accumulation of social capital: any evidence of bonding, bridging or linking? American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 67 (5), 941-968. (doi:10.1111/j.1536-7150.2008.00603.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This article presents analyses of individual investment in social capital using both the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the UK Time Use Survey (2000) (UKTUS). We suggest a general theoretical framework that could possibly explain individual investment in various forms of social networking. Measures of social capital are then constructed in an attempt to capture the extent of individual investment in bonding, bridging, and linking networks. These measures, together with other socioeconomic indicators, are used as explanatory factors in wage equations, estimated using ordered probit, OLS, and instrumental variable approaches. We are unable to identify any consistent returns from investment in bonding and bridging networks. In contrast, the evidence suggests that any returns to investment in the development of linking social capital simply derive from the positive signals that group membership may transmit to potential employers. Our results underline the contrast between studies that consider social capital as an attribute of communities, as opposed to individuals, in that we find a negative return to social activity at the level of the individual.

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Published date: 5 December 2008

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 80178
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/80178
ISSN: 0002-9246
PURE UUID: 86165e7d-ba44-448a-80c6-997a781ef8f4
ORCID for Patrick Sturgis: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1180-3493

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Date deposited: 24 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 00:36

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Contributors

Author: Peter Urwin
Author: Giorgio Di Pietro
Author: Patrick Sturgis ORCID iD
Author: Gregor Jack

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