IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/socsci/v88y2007i2p422-442.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social Capital in Urban China: Attitudinal and Behavioral Effects on Grassroots Self‐Government

Author

Listed:
  • Jie Chen
  • Chunlong Lu

Abstract

Objectives. Studies of Western settings, in general, argue that social capital, defined as a set of civic norms and social networks among ordinary citizens, nurtures democratic governance at various levels. Does such a social capital exist in a transitional society such as China? If so, what kind of role does social capital play in affecting individuals' attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward fledging grassroots self‐government in that society? This study is intended to answer these questions, which are crucial for our understanding of China's sociopolitical development as well as for the application of social capital theories in non‐Western societies. Methods. This study is based on the data collected from a representative survey conducted in an urban area in China in 2004. Results. The findings from this study indicate that social capital among urban residents was abundant, and it nurtured the grassroots self‐government system through residents' attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward the system. Conclusions. These findings have strong implications for the future of local democratic governance and applicability of social capital theories in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Jie Chen & Chunlong Lu, 2007. "Social Capital in Urban China: Attitudinal and Behavioral Effects on Grassroots Self‐Government," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 88(2), pages 422-442, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:88:y:2007:i:2:p:422-442
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00465.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00465.x
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00465.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rongzhu Ke & Weiying Zhang, 2003. "Trust in China: A Cross-Regional Analysis," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2003-586, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Myunghee Kim & Xiongwei Cao, 2021. "Linking global leadership to domestic legitimacy: Comparative analysis of perceptions of Xi and Obama," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(4), pages 1638-1653, July.
    2. Ryuichi Ohta & Yoshinori Ryu & Daisuke Kataoka & Chiaki Sano, 2021. "Effectiveness and Challenges in Local Self-Governance: Multifunctional Autonomy in Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, January.
    3. Min Xia, 2011. "Social Capital and Rural Grassroots Governance in China," Journal of Current Chinese Affairs - China aktuell, Institute of Asian Studies, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 40(2), pages 135-163.
    4. Junyi Shen & Xiangdong Qin, 2014. "Cooperation, Trust and Economic Development: An Experimental Study in China," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 423-438, October.
    5. Qin, Xiangdong & Shen, Junyi & Meng, Xindan, 2011. "Group-based trust, trustworthiness and voluntary cooperation: Evidence from experimental and survey data in China," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 356-363, August.
    6. Yu, Ang & Tang, Chengzuo, 2018. "Mobilized to Take a Vanguard Role: Communist Party Members’ Participation in the Community Building Campaign," SocArXiv 6khja, Center for Open Science.
    7. Rong Hu & Ivan Y. Sun & Yuning Wu, 2015. "Chinese Trust in the Police: The Impact of Political Efficacy and Participation," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(4), pages 1012-1026, December.
    8. Narisong Huhe, 2014. "Understanding the Multilevel Foundation of Social Trust in Rural China: Evidence from the China General Social Survey," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 95(2), pages 581-597, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wu, Wenfeng & Firth, Michael & Rui, Oliver M., 2014. "Trust and the provision of trade credit," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 146-159.
    2. Maggie Chuoyan Dong & Yulin Fang & Detmar W. Straub, 2017. "The Impact of Institutional Distance on the Joint Performance of Collaborating Firms: The Role of Adaptive Interorganizational Systems," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 28(2), pages 309-331, June.
    3. Su, Kun & Yang, Ruohan & Cui, Qian & Wang, Tianfu, 2024. "The geographic distance of independent directors and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    4. Elvis Cheng Xu, 2019. "Impacts of Urbanisation on Trust: Evidence from a Lab in the Field on a Natural Experiment," Artefactual Field Experiments 00676, The Field Experiments Website.
    5. Fei Song & C. Bram Cadsby & Yunyun Bi, 2012. "Trust, Reciprocity, and Guanxi in China: An Experimental Investigation," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 8(2), pages 397-421, July.
    6. Jin, Ming & Liu, Jinshan & Chen, Zhongfei, 2022. "Impacts of social trust on corporate leverage: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 505-521.
    7. Kong, Dongmin & Xiong, Mengxu & Qin, Ni, 2022. "Business Tax reform and CSR engagement: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    8. Baoyin Qiu & Junli Yu & Kuo Zhang, 2020. "Trust and Stock Price Synchronicity: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 97-109, November.
    9. Wu, Xiaokang & Yu, Jinping, 2023. "Does dialect difference impede patent transaction? Evidence from China's inter-city patent license data," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    10. Luo, Jun & Wang, Xinxin, 2020. "Hukou identity and trust—Evidence from a framed field experiment in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    11. Sara Javed & Md. Salamun Rashidin & Wang Jian, 2021. "Predictors and outcome of customer satisfaction: moderating effect of social trust," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 48(1), pages 27-48, March.
    12. Na Sun & Liangrong Song & Yan Sun, 2021. "Fuze Effect: A Landmine in the Way of Sustainable Development of FinTech—The Lessons from the Peer-To-Peer Risk Outbreak," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
    13. James S. Ang & Zhiqian Jiang & Chaopeng Wu, 2016. "Good Apples, Bad Apples: Sorting Among Chinese Companies Traded in the U.S," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(4), pages 611-629, April.
    14. Wang Dong & Hongling Han & Yun Ke & Kam C. Chan, 2018. "Social Trust and Corporate Misconduct: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 539-562, August.
    15. Xiangyu Chen & Peng Wan, 2020. "Social trust and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 485-500, March.
    16. Wu, Xiaokang & Yang, Jijun, 2023. "High-speed railway and patent trade in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    17. Ning, Shuying & Lin, Zhiyang, 2023. "Effect of accounting information manipulation on innovation: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    18. Zhao, Hongxin & Lu, Jiangyong, 2016. "Contingent value of political capital in bank loan acquisition: Evidence from founder-controlled private enterprises in China," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 153-174.
    19. Li, Xiaorong & Wang, Steven Shuye & Wang, Xue, 2019. "Trust and IPO underpricing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 224-248.
    20. Jin, Dawei & Wang, Haizhi & Wang, Peng & Yin, Desheng, 2016. "Social trust and foreign ownership: Evidence from qualified foreign institutional investors in China," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 1-14.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:88:y:2007:i:2:p:422-442. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0038-4941 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.