Social Capital CrossNationally

1
Social Capital Cross-Nationally

• Mark Stephan
• Political Behavior
• PS 417

2
Last week and this week

• Party membership worldwide
• Party modernization, cross national comparisons
• Social Capital what is it?
• Measuring social capital
• How does it vary worldwide?

3
Social Capital

• What is social capital (in your own words)?
• Small group discussion
• Putnam
• Putnams definition

4
Social Capital (continued)

• connections among individuals social networks
  and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness
  that arise from them
• Structural, Cultural
• Three core claims
• Important consequences, political impacts, clear
  decline

5
Methodological problems

• Networks
• Structure AND Culture?
• Context-driven..
• Results that are all over the map..

6
News Flash!!

• A new pope is chosen what does it mean?
• 10 years later domestic extremists still
  around, still active (though there are fewer of
  them).a tight knit community with lots of
  social capital?

7
Measuring Social Capital

• World Values Study data (1995-1997) aggregated
  to the societal level
• Membership in associations
• Activism in associations
• Social trust Generally speaking, would you say
  that most people can be trusted or that you cant
  be too careful in dealing with people?

8
Results

• Figure 8.1
• Regional differences
• Table 8.3
• Development and social capital
• Social Trust
• Correlation and causation

9
More results

• Social Tolerance
• Political Culture
• Democratization
• Two causal stories
• Another twist.