Social Capital

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Social Capital Theory, Measures, and Policy

• Bill Reimer
• with the NRE Team
• reimer_at_vax2.concordia.ca
• 2005/07/26

2
How can rural Canada (re)vitalize?

• Identify the conditions that have contributed to
  devitalization
• Organize assets and resources to do the things
  considered important

This ability to organize is Capacity
Capacity transforms assets into valued outcomes
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CAPACITY MODEL

• PROCESSES
• Market
• Bureaucratic
• Associative
• Communal

• OUTCOMES
• Economic wealth
• Social and political inclusion
• Social Cohesion
• Environmental security
• Social and self-worth
• Health
• Personal Security

• ASSETS
• Economic Capital
• Human Skills and Abilities
• Social Capital
• Natural Resources

outcomes can become new assets and liabilities
Return
4
Context Matters

• exposure to global economies
• stability of the local economy
• adjacency to metro regions
• social and institutional capacity

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The NRE Sample Frame
Low Capacity
High Capacity
Lag
Lead
Adjac.
Fluctu-ating
Global Exposed
Distant
Stable
Local Exposed
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NREThe Rural Observatory
an International Network
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Social Capital
relationships, networks, and associated norms
that facilitate collective action

• One type of asset or resource (stock)
• Social assets potentially useful for outcomes
• Network structures
• Bonding, bridging, linking, density, etc.
• Normative structures
• Market, bureaucratic, associative, communal

Capacity Model
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The Type of Social Relation Matters
High Capacity Agility with all systems
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How is social capital to be measured?

• Social capital is about social relations
• Reflected in institutions, organizations, groups,
  events (AVAILABLE social capital)
• Reflected in the USE of these groups and networks
• Rooted in 4 types of social relations

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Measuring AVAILABLE Social Capital

• Market relations Enterprises, Financial
  institutions (formal and informal), commercial
  services
• Bureaucratic relations Schools, Govt
  organizations, corporations
• Associative relations Voluntary associations
• Communal relations Family networks, Daycares,
  Senior citizens centres, Religious
  organizations, Community-integration events

Sites
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Measuring USE of Social Capital

• Market-based Employment, M-Internet, market
  services, employment organizations, market
  support
• Bureaucratic-based B-Internet, bureaucratic
  services, actions re. bureaucracies, bureaucratic
  support
• Associative-based A-Internet, associative
  services, associative-based groups, associative
  actions, associative support
• Communal-based C-Internet, sharing goods,
  sharing services, family support

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Are the normative structures related?

• Within Levels
• Sites Market, Bureaucratic, Associative
  correlate
• HHs Bureaucratic, Associative, Communal correlate

• Across Levels
• Available social capital not always used .
• Type of social capital matters .
• Census proxies depend on type of social capital .

Policy Third sector strategic choice for economy
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Does context have specific effects on production
and use of social capital?

• Yes (more social capital use in)
• Connected to global economy
• Fluctuating local economy
• Remote from metropolitan centres
• Low institutional capacity
• Socio-economic leaders
• Condition relationship between social capital and
  outcomes .

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Policy Implications

• Build from social capital strengths
• Social capitals are substitutable
• Organize for incompatibilities
• e.g. Bureaucratic and Associative
• Adapt to local conditions
• Non-metro Associative and Communal
• Globally connected Associative
• Develop multiple measures

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Social Capital Theory, Measures, and Policy

• The Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation
• nre.concordia.ca
• www.crrf.ca
• 2005/07/26

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NRE Field Sites by AVAILABLE Types of Social
Capital
Return
Source 19 NRE Site Profiles 2000
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Correlation between Types of AVAILABLE Social
Capital Site-level
Bureaucratic Associative Communal
Market .76 .84 .29
Bureaucratic .87 .12
Associative .13
(r) 19 sites raw sums with skewed variables
logged plt.01 Source NRE Site Profiles 2000
Return
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Correlation between Types of USE of Social
Capital HH-level
Bureau. Associative Communal
Market .18 .28 .27
Bureau. .37 .41
Associative .29
(r) 1995 HHs sums of logged items
plt.01 Source NRE HH Survey 2001
Return
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AVAILABLE Social Capital is not always USED
AVAILABILITY of Social Capital (Site-level) AVAILABILITY of Social Capital (Site-level) AVAILABILITY of Social Capital (Site-level) AVAILABILITY of Social Capital (Site-level)
USE of SoKp (HH-level) Market Bureau. Assoc. Comm. Total
Market .12 .08 .21 .15
Bureaucratic .22 .13 .35 .29
Associative .20 .09 .28 .22
Communal -.18 .09 .07 .05
Total .19 .12 .32 .25

• (r) (N1849) Unless otherwise indicated plt.01
  plt.05
• Availability is measured at the site level
  (Source NRE Site Profiles 2000)
• Use is measured at the household level (Source
  NRE HH Survey 2001)

Return
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Type of USE of Social Capital matters for HH
Incomes
Return

• Adj. R2 .37
• Constant 9102
• N 1697
• Logged values for USE of social capital
• P lt .05
• Source NRE HH survey, 2001
• Total HH income
• Market, bureaucratic, communal, associative
  indexes of types of social capital
• Education of the respondent
• HH Size number of people in the household

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Census Proxies for Social Capital
Total Market Bureau. Assoc. Comm.
LF Particip. .45 .74
Median HH Income .66 .81 .52
Govt Transfers -.73
English MT .58 .70 .55 .60
IQV Visible Minorities .50 .58 .67
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• (r) (N19) plt.05 plt.01
• Average social capital by site (Source NRE HH
  Survey 2001 Statistics Canada, Census 2001)

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Use of Associative Social Capital by Census Proxy

• R2(Adj).56
• Census Variables
• IQV for Visible Minorities and others
• English Mother Tongue
• Average of Use of Associative social capital
• NRE HH Survey 2001

Return
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Perception vs. Behaviour-based Indicators of
Social Cohesion
Return
Market Bureau Assoc. Comnl Total
Community Cohesion .10 .11 .25 .18 .24
Psychol. Cohesion .09 .12 .25 .17 .24
Attract-iveness .14 .08 .09
Neighbour-liness .13 .08 .15 .20 .21
(r) All correlations significant at .01 level
(2-tailed)
Source NRE HH survey 2001 1991 respondents
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Use of Social Capital by NRE Sample Frame
Dimensions
Global Stable Adjac. Hi Cap. Leading
Market .18 -.12 .18
Bureau.
Assoc. .05 -.06 -.06 .17
Comm. .05 -.05 -.11
Total .10 -.10 -.05 -.05 .16

• (r) (N1995) plt.05 plt.01 (confirmed by
  ANOVA)
• Use is measured at the site level (Source NRE
  Site Profiles 2000)

Return
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Context Important for Transforming Assets into
Outcomes (e.g. Income)
Return
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High Capacity Agility among systems
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What are the most appropriate levels of analysis
for evaluating collective social capital?
What are the limits of aggregation of individual
social capital for estimating collective social
capital?

• Depends on the purpose
• Our objective Rural Revitalization
• Strategy
• Examine multiple levels (households, sites,
  regions, provinces, nation)
• Examine social capital within and across levels

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Can communities be analyzed as networks of
networks?

• Networks used in complex ways
• e.g. Health Communal, Associative, Bureaucratic
  integration
• Low correlation between community as action and
  community as perception
• e.g. social cohesion

Policy multiple strategies for social cohesion