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Inequality and individuals’ social networks: the other face of social capital

Author

Listed:
  • Atilano Pena-López
  • Paolo Rungo
  • José Manuel Sánchez-Santos

Abstract

Social capital is a controversial concept, which is used in economics as a generic form of pro-sociality and a simple means to introduce the social context into mainstream approaches. However, the accepted view underestimates social conflict and does not properly characterise social capital as an asset. When considering these issues, a different face of social capital emerges, one that can be associated with closure and privilege maintenance. This paper studies how access to and the extraction of social network resources depend on the social structure. By analysing data from a survey that included a position and a resource generator, we find that for the case of Spanish society, people endowed with high levels of economic and human capital enjoy improved accessibility and networks with a high prevalence of instrumental relations. There is essential inequality in the endowment of social capital, which augments economic inequality. When inequality is socially embedded, traditional redistributive policies may have limited effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Atilano Pena-López & Paolo Rungo & José Manuel Sánchez-Santos, 2021. "Inequality and individuals’ social networks: the other face of social capital," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 45(4), pages 675-694.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:45:y:2021:i:4:p:675-694.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cje/beab016
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Murphy, David M.A., 2023. "Sobriety, social capital, and village network structures," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    2. Peña, Guillermo, 2021. "Leisure as a complement of banking: Taxing financial services for reducing leisure time?," MPRA Paper 109942, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Paolo Rungo & José Manuel Sánchez-Santos, 2022. "Social Ties, Network Socioeconomic Diversity and Sporting Event Attendance," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(2), pages 773-790, November.

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