Generating Social Capital

Social capital - networks of civic engagements, norms of reciprocity, and attitudes of trust - is widely seen as playing a key role for the health of democracy. While many authors have examined the consequences of social capital, there is a pressing need to explore its sources. This collection brings together leading American and European scholars in the first comparative analysis of how social trust and other civic attitudes are generated. The contributors to this volume examine the generation of social capital from two directions: society-based approaches that emphasize voluntary associations, and institutional approaches that emphasize policy.

'The diverse essays in this edited volume focus sharply on the important question: where does social capital come from? Using different analytical approaches to data culled from a variety of countries across three continents, the book advances our understanding of the nature and origins of social capital.' - Ken Newton, University of Southampton

Autorentext
MARC HOOGHE is an Assistant Professor at the Free University of Brussels/ University of Antwerp in Belgium.

DIETLIND STOLLE is an Assistant Professor at McGill University in Canada.

Inhalt
Generating Social Capital; M.Hooghe & D.Stolle The Sources of Social Capital: Theoretical and Empirical Insights; D.Stolle PART I: SOCIETY-CENTRED APPROACHES TO SOCIAL CAPITAL The Creation of Democratic Attitudes: Do Associations Matter?; N.Mayer How Important is Face-to-Face Interaction?; D.Wollebaek & P.Selle Voluntary Associations and Civic Attitudes: Value Congruence as a Causal Mechanism; M.Hooghe Associations or Informal Networks? Social Capital and Local Development Practices; N.Molenaers Rain or Fog: An Empirical Examination of Social Capital's Rainmaker Effects; J.van der Meer PART II: INSTITUTION-CENTRED APPROACHES TO SOCIAL CAPITAL A Tale of Two Cities: Local Patterns of Social Capital; J.de Hart & P.Dekker Trust, Democracy and Governance: Can Government Policies Influence Generalized Trust?; E.M.Uslaner Social Capital, Impartiality and the Welfare State: An Institutional Approach; B.Rothstein & D.Stolle Contemporary Institutions versus Historical Trajectories: The Case of Italy; M.Huysseune