GEHP111 – Happiness and

Wellbeing
CLASS 17 – SOCIAL CAPITAL
 What is Social Capital?

 By making connections with each other, and keeping them going over time, people are able
to work together to achieve things they either would not achieve by themselves, or could
only achieve with great difficulty
 People connect through a series of networks and tend to share values with other members
of these networks
 To the extent that these networks constitute a resource, they can be seen as forming a kind
of capital
 The more people you know, and the more you share a common outlook with them, the
richer you are in social capital
How Networks Make Things Happen

 Important decisions almost always involve a degree of uncertainty and

risk
 Using formal procedures is no guarantee of success
 To make things happen, people often prefer to bypass the formal system
and talk to people they know
 But - just knowing people isn’t enough if they don’t feel obliged to help
you
 If people share values, they are much more likely to cooperate to achieve
mutual goals
 Types of Social Relationships

 Social ties can be ‘weak’ or ‘strong’,

as measured by their frequency,
reciprocity, duration, and importance
(Granovetter, 1973)
 Each type of social tie brings its own
benefits…
 Pierre Bourdieu

Social capital is the sum of resources, actual or virtual,

that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of
possessing a durable network of more or less
institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance
and recognition
- Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992
Pierre Bourdieu

 Social capital is linked to economic and cultural capital

 Social capital functions alongside these to reproduce inequality and give
some people elite status
 The value of the ties an individual can mobilise depends on their number
+ the cultural and economic capital possessed by each connection
 The density and durability of ties are both important
 In order for their social capital to maintain value, individuals have to
work on it
Robert Putnam

…features of social life – networks, norms

and trust – that enable participants to act
together more efficiently to pursue shared
objectives
Robert Putnam, 1996
Bridging v. Bonding Social Capital

Bonding social capital: links to people with whom you share a group identity -
tends to reinforce exclusive identities and maintain homogeneity

Bridging social capital: links to people outside your social group - tends to
bring together people across diverse social divisions
Bridging v. Bonding Social Capital

 Each form of social capital is helpful in meeting different needs

 Bonding social capital is good for mobilizing solidarity, loyalty, identity
and reciprocity among groups
 Bridging connections are better for linkage to external assets and for
circulating information and can generate broader identities and patterns of
reciprocity
 America’s Declining Social Capital

 Putnam emphasizes the value of volunteering and sociability

 Demonstrates a strong link between social-capital and well-being, as measured by education, economic
prosperity, health, happiness, and civic engagement
 Social capital balances corporate power and political apathy
 By the late 1880s urbanization, immigration and industrialisation had brought America’s communal ties
to a low point
 Restored by a dense web of voluntary organisations from the Red Cross to labour unions
 Civic engagement grew steadily until the 1960s but then declines severely
America’s Declining Social Capital

 Causes of the decline in social capital

 Time poverty (two-career families)
 Urban sprawl
 Home based electronic entertainment
(TV, video games)
 Generational change
Bowling Alone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4DMMYKNZKs
Workbook

How strong is social capital in UAE? Has it grown,

declined or remained the same over the last few
decades?

Are the social factor Putnam believed responsible for

declining social capital in the US present in UAE?
Benefits of Social Capital

 Based on a wide range of empirical studies, people who have access to a

high degree of social capital are:
 Healthier
 Happier
 Wealthier
 Children do better at school
 Communities suffer less from anti-social behaviour
Social Capital and Education

 Positive relationship between home social capital and reading attainment (Turmo, 2004)
 Positive relationship between home social capital and scientific literacy (Turmo, 2004)
 Social capital may provide significant educational resources for those who are otherwise
relatively disadvantaged
 University education gave access to wider connections and networks, providing weak
social ties useful for future careers (Emler and McNamara, 1996)
 Close relationship between people’s networks and their educational performance (Field,
2008)
 Social Capital and Prosperity

 Personal contacts furnish job-seekers with an effective way of finding new positions – social capital is
positively associated with labour force participation in many studies
 Income increases with number of friends (Franzen & Hangartner, 2006)
 Bridging social capital associated with higher income levels (Sabatini, 2005)
 Weak ties give job seekers access to a wider range of information about a more diverse set of opportunities
– but close connections will make a greater effort to help someone find a job
 Networks function as important sources of information and opportunities for business start-ups and
provide access to finance
 Networks of firms, researchers and policy-makers decisive for innovation and competitiveness
 Social Capital and Health

 Suicide rates higher in populations with low levels of social integration, and lower in closely-knit communities
(Durkheim)
 People with strong social networks have mortality rates half or one-third of those with weak social ties
(Whitehead & Diderichsen, 2001)
 Differences in social capital between US states linked to differences in health outcomes and mortality (Putnam,
2000)
 Social integration also associated with better health and lowered mortality in studies in Sweden and UK
 Strong evidence that people with more social capital are likely to live longer and suffer from fewer health
disorders
 Trust and social participation can also help protect against mental health disorders
 Trust is an important predictor of subjective well-being
Social Capital and Health (2)

 Why does social capital lead to better health?

 Material assistance provided by social networks reduces stress
 Networks can reinforce healthy norms
 Networks help access medical services
 Interaction can actually stimulate body’s immune system
 Social interaction associated with greater levels of self-worth and efficacy
 Well-networked individuals and communities tend to be more prosperous