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On the Determinants of Social Capital in Greece Compared to Countries of the European Union

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  • Asimina Christoforou

    (Athens University of Economics and Business)

Abstract

Social capital refers to the stock of social relations, based on norms and networks of cooperation and trust that spill over to the market and state to enhance collective action between actors and achieve improved social efficiency and economic growth. The aim of the present paper is to discuss the implications of contemporary literature and empirical findings on social capital for the growth prospects of Greece, compared to the member-states of the European Union. In order to examine the potential of social capital to enhance growth, we must look into the factors that determine the nature and context of trust, norms and networks that have emerged in our multinational, multiethnic and multicultural Europe.The contribution of this paper is to offer insight on the determinants of social capital in Greece, compared to the European Union (EU - former 15 member-states). For this purpose, we regress an index of individual group membership, derived from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), on a set of individual as well as aggregate factors of social capital. Regression results provide evidence of the impact of both individual and institutional characteristics on group membership. Differences on the extent of group membership between countries might be indicative of the historical and cultural differences that have affected the evolution of social capital across Europe. Particularly in Greece, the relatively low level of group membership compared to the other EU countries might provide further evidence of its low levels of civicness. Historically, its weak civil society has been a result of a prior civic tradition of clientelism under arbitrary rule, the interference of special-interest groups and the lack of credibility and impartiality from the part of the state. And these factors might be responsible for the slow pace in reform and growth observed compared to the rest of the EU. Nevertheless, the findings on the determinants of social capital may direct us to possible means of rebuilding patterns of participatory and cooperative behavior, especially in countries with low levels of trust and civicness, such as Greece.

Suggested Citation

  • Asimina Christoforou, 2005. "On the Determinants of Social Capital in Greece Compared to Countries of the European Union," Working Papers 2005.68, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    • Handle: RePEc:fem:femwpa:2005.68
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    Cited by:

    1. Daskalopoulou & I., 2017. "Democracy and social capital in Greece," Business & Entrepreneurship Journal, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 6(1), pages 1-2.
    2. Tamilina, Larysa, 2012. "Social policies and trust in the social security system," MPRA Paper 96519, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Jingyue Zhang & Nan Lu, 2019. "What Matters Most for Community Social Capital among Older Adults Living in Urban China: The Role of Health and Family Social Capital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-14, February.
    4. Tamilina, Larysa, 2011. "Policy specific effects of welfare states’ impact on social trust," MPRA Paper 96515, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Tamilina, Larysa, 2012. "Characteristics of social policies and social trust," MPRA Paper 96517, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Isabel Neira Gómez & Marta Portela, 2011. "Determinantes del capital social," Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación volume 6, in: Antonio Caparrós Ruiz (ed.), Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación 6, edition 1, volume 6, chapter 60, pages 986-1001, Asociación de Economía de la Educación.
    7. Nectarios Oudeniotis & George O. Tsobanoglou, 2022. "Interorganizational Cooperation and Social Capital Formation among Social Enterprises and Social Economy Organizations: A Case Study from the Region of Attica, Greece," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, March.
    8. Tamilina, Larysa, 2011. "The Impact of Welfare States on Social Trust Formation: A Multidimensional Approach," MPRA Paper 96489, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Thierry Debrand & Nicolas Sirven, 2008. "Promoting Social Participation for Healthy Ageing - A Counterfactual Analysis from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)," Working Papers DT7, IRDES institut for research and information in health economics, revised Jan 2008.
    10. Tamilina, Larysa, 2018. "The impact of welfare states on social trust: theoretical and empirical foundations," MPRA Paper 96512, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Liagouras, George, 2018. "On the Edge of the South European Model: Familism, Business and State in Greece," OSF Preprints 8eqmb, Center for Open Science.
    12. Anneli Kaasa & Eve Parts, 2007. "Individual-Level Determinants Of Social Capital In Europe: Differences Between Country Groups," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 56, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    13. Tamilina, Larysa, 2011. "The welfare state and social trust: a three-dimensional approach of analysis," MPRA Paper 96513, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Tri Wahyu Nugroho & Nuhfil Hanani & Hery Toiba & Sujarwo Sujarwo, 2022. "Promoting Subjective Well-Being among Rural and Urban Residents in Indonesia: Does Social Capital Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, February.
    15. Giulia El-Dardiry & Christine Dimitrakaki & Chara Tzavara & Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer & Yannis Tountas, 2012. "Child Health-Related Quality of Life and Parental Social Capital in Greece: An Exploratory Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 105(1), pages 75-92, January.
    16. Yahya Shadi & Mohammad Hassan Lotfi & Saharnaz Nedjat & Mostafa Amini Rarani & Esmaeil Khedmati Morasae, 2018. "Explaining Unequal Levels of Social Capital in Tehran," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 243-265, November.
    17. Tamilina, Larysa, 2018. "Theories of social trust formation: a brief literature overview," MPRA Paper 96511, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Tamilina, Larysa, 2011. "The welfare state and social trust: a descriptive analysis," MPRA Paper 96514, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Caraveli, Helen, 2017. "The LEADER Programme as a vehicle in promoting social capital in rural regions: a critical assessment and examples from the case of Greece," Rural Areas and Development, European Rural Development Network (ERDN), vol. 14, pages 1-16.
    20. Irene Daskalopoulou, 2016. "Social capital at the outburst of the economic crisis in Greece, 2008-2010," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 9(2), pages 79-86, June.
    21. Jones, Nikoleta & Malesios, Chrisovaladis & Iosifides, Theodoros & Sophoulis, Costas, 2008. "Social capital in Greece: Measurement and comparative perspectives," MPRA Paper 99299, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Tamilina, Larysa, 2018. "A brief overview of approaches to defining social trust," MPRA Paper 96510, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Tamilina, Larysa, 2011. "Decommodification and stratification effects on social trust," MPRA Paper 96516, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Sirven, Nicolas & Debrand, Thierry, 2008. "Social participation and healthy ageing: An international comparison using SHARE data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(12), pages 2017-2026, December.
    25. Tamilina, Larysa, 2012. "Group specific effects of social policies on social trust," MPRA Paper 96518, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    Keywords

    Determinants; Social capital in Greece; European union; Diversity;
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