Working Paper: NBER ID: w7728
Authors: Edward L. Glaeser; David Laibson; Bruce Sacerdote
Abstract: To identify the determinants of social capital formation, it is necessary to understand the social capital investment decision of individuals. Individual social capital should then be aggregated to measure the social capital of a community. This paper assembles the evidence that supports the individual-based model of social capital formation, including seven facts: (1) the relationship between social capital and age is first increasing and then decreasing, (2) social capital declines with expected mobility, (3) social capital investment is higher in occupations with greater returns to social skills, (4) social capital is higher among homeowners, (5) social connections fall sharply with physical distance, (6) people who invest in human capital also invest in social capital, and (7) social capital appears to have interpersonal complementarities.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: D0; J0; R0
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Age (J14) | Social Capital (Z13) |
| Expected Mobility (J62) | Social Capital (Z13) |
| Occupational Returns to Social Skills (J24) | Social Capital Investment (E22) |
| Homeownership (R21) | Social Capital (Z13) |
| Physical Distance (R12) | Social Connections (Z13) |
| Human Capital Investment (J24) | Social Capital Investment (E22) |
| Interpersonal Complementarities (D10) | Social Capital (Z13) |