Is Social Capital Declining in the United States? A Multiple Indicator Assessment

1999/07/01 by Pamela Paxton · 34 citations
Social Sciences · #Social Capital and Networks #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies #Social and Cultural Dynamics

paper · doi:10.1086/210268

Abstract

Despite a great deal of interest in a possible decline of social capital in the United States, scholars have not reached a consensus on the trend. This article improves upon previous research by providing a model of social capital that has explicit links to theories of social capital and that analyzes multiple indicators of social capital over a 20‐year period. The results do not consistently support Putnam's claim of a decline in social capital, showing instead some decline in a general measure of social capital, a decline in trust in individuals, no general decline in trust in institutions, and no decline in associations.

Citations

• The Strength of Weak Ties

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