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Social Capital in Europe from 1990 to 2012: Trends and Convergence

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  • Francesco Sarracino

    (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques du Grand-Duché du Luxembourg (STATEC)
    Agence pour la normalisation et l’économie de la connaissance (ANEC)
    LCSR National Research University Higher School of Economics)

  • Małgorzata Mikucka

    (Université catholique de Louvain)

Abstract

As social capital affects many social and economic outcomes, it is important to monitor its changes over time. This study uses WVS-EVS integrated data (1990–2012) to describe the trends of 8 proxies of social capital in 30 Western and Eastern European countries. We found positive trends of trust in others, confidence in public services, and in armed forces; negative trends of participation in groups and associations, and of confidence in political institutions; mixed trends of civic cooperation, and of confidence in religious and empowering institutions. We also found evidence that over time the differences in social capital among European countries predominantly increased ( $$\sigma$$ σ -convergence). These differences are not explained by differences in the initial stocks of social capital ( $$\beta$$ β -convergence).

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Sarracino & Małgorzata Mikucka, 2017. "Social Capital in Europe from 1990 to 2012: Trends and Convergence," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 407-432, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:131:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-016-1255-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-016-1255-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Philipp Poppitz, 2019. "Multidimensional Inequality and Divergence: The Eurozone Crisis in Retrospect," Working Papers V-420-19, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Feb 2019.
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    3. Sarracino, Francesco & Greyling, Talita & O'Connor, Kelsey J. & Peroni, Chiara & Rossouw, Stephanie, 2024. "Trust predicts compliance with COVID-19 containment policies: Evidence from ten countries using big data," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    4. František Murgaš & František Petrovič & Anna Tirpáková, 2022. "Social Capital as a Predictor of Quality of Life: The Czech Experience," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-17, May.
    5. Diana Escandon-Barbosa & David Urbano-Pulido & Andrea Hurtado-Ayala, 2019. "Exploring the Relationship between Formal and Informal Institutions, Social Capital, and Entrepreneurial Activity in Developing and Developed Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    6. Urszula Markowska-Przybyła, 2020. "Does Social Capital Matter for Total Factor Productivity? Exploratory Evidence from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-25, November.
    7. Wu, Rong & Li, Zhigang & Liu, Ye & Huang, Xu & Liu, Yuqi, 2019. "Neighborhood governance in post-reform Urban China: Place attachment impact on civic engagement in Guangzhou," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 472-482.
    8. Mateusz Borkowski, 2023. "Social Capital and Economic Development: PLS-SEM Model," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 11-27.
    9. Georg Kanitsar, 2022. "The Inequality-Trust Nexus Revisited: At What Level of Aggregation Does Income Inequality Matter for Social Trust?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 171-195, August.
    10. Habibov, Nazim & Cheung, Alex & Auchynnikava, Alena, 2017. "Does social trust increase willingness to pay taxes to improve public healthcare? Cross-sectional cross-country instrumental variable analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 25-34.
    11. Norbert Laurisz, 2019. "The Role of Stakeholders in Development of Social Economy Organizations in Poland: An Integrative Approach," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-17, September.
    12. Francesco Sarracino & Talita Greyling & Kelsey J. O'Connor & Chiara Peroni & Stephanie Rossouw, 2021. "Trust predicts compliance to Covid-19 containment policies: evidence from ten countries using big data," Department of Economics University of Siena 858, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    13. Katalin Füzér & Bence Völgyi & Dávid Erát & László Szerb, 2023. "Global Digital Peripheries: The Social Capital Profile of Low‐Adopter Countries," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(3), pages 225-238.
    14. Francesco Sarracino & Marcin Piekałkiewicz, 2021. "The Role of Income and Social Capital for Europeans’ Well-Being During the 2008 Economic Crisis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1583-1610, April.
    15. Glawe, Linda & Wagner, Helmut, 2021. "Convergence, divergence, or multiple steady states? New evidence on the institutional development within the European Union," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 860-884.
    16. Zoltán Lakner & Anna Kiss & Ivan Merlet & Judit Oláh & Domicián Máté & Janusz Grabara & József Popp, 2018. "Building Coalitions for a Diversified and Sustainable Tourism: Two Case Studies from Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-23, April.
    17. Sarracino, Francesco & Slater, Giulia, 2024. "The trust paradox," MPRA Paper 120053, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Inbar Weiss & Pamela Paxton & Kristopher Velasco & Robert W. Ressler, 2019. "Revisiting Declines in Social Capital: Evidence from a New Measure," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 1015-1029, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social capital; Beta-convergence; Sigma-convergence; Trends; Europe; EVS–WVS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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