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Understanding the Decline in Social Capital, 1952-1998

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Author Info
Dora L. Costa
Matthew E. Kahn

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Abstract

We evaluate trends in social capital since 1952 and assess explanations for the observed declines. We examine both social capital centered in the community and in the home and argue that the decline in social capital has been over-stated. Controlling for education, there have been small declines in the probability of volunteering, larger declines in group membership, and still larger declines in the probability of entertaining since the 1970s. There have been no declines in the probability of spending frequent evenings with friends or relatives, but there have been decreases in daily visits with friends or relatives. Rising community heterogeneity (particularly income inequality) explains the fall in social capital produced outside the home whereas the rise in women's labor force participation rates explains the decline in social capital produced within the home.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 8295.

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Date of creation: May 2001
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8295

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Social Norms and Social Capital; Social Networks Economic Anthropology
J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Fiorillo, Damiano, 2005. "Le determinanti del capitale sociale in Italia, 1993-2000: una analisi esplorativa," MPRA Paper 796, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  2. Alberto Alesina & Eliana La Ferrara, 2004. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance," NBER Working Papers 10313, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Bartolini, Stefano & Bonatti, Luigi, 2007. "Endogenous growth, decline in social capital and expansion of market activities," MPRA Paper 3341, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  4. 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. [Downloadable!]
  5. Henry Saffer, 2005. "The Demand for Social Interaction," NBER Working Papers 11881, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Munasib, Abdul B.A. & Jordan, Jeffrey L., 2006. "Are Friendly Farmers Environmentally Friendly? Environmental Awareness as a Social Capital Outcome," 2006 Annual Meeting, February 5-8, 2006, Orlando, Florida 35281, Southern Agricultural Economics Association. [Downloadable!]
  7. Daniel M. Hungerman, 2007. "Diversity and Crowd-out: A Theory of Cold-Glow Giving," NBER Working Papers 13348, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Susan E. Mayer, 2001. "How the Growth in Income Inequality Increased Economic Segregation," Working Papers 0117, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
  9. Stefano Bartolini & Luigi Bonatti, 2006. "How Can the Decline in Social Capital be Reconciled with a Satisfactory Growth Performance?," Department of Economics University of Siena 477, Department of Economics, University of Siena. [Downloadable!]
  10. Henry Saffer & Karine Lamiraud, 2008. "The Effect of Hours of Work on Social Interaction," NBER Working Papers 13743, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Susan E. Mayer, 2001. "How the Growth in Income Inequality Increased Economic Segregation," JCPR Working Papers 230, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
  12. Jeffrey Milyo & Jennifer M. Mellor & Lisa Anderson, 2004. "Inequality, Group Cohesion, and Public Good Provision: An Experimental Analysis," Working Papers 0418, Department of Economics, University of Missouri, revised 27 Dec 2004. [Downloadable!]
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