Does Social Capital Improve the Effectiveness of Public Service? An Insight from Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China

Despite the extensive literature on the effectiveness of public service, measuring it from the user’s side among rural-to-urban groups is limited. Moreover, although rich research has explored the factors influencing the effectiveness of public service, in-depth micro-level analysis is scarcely addressed. The current study addresses these gaps by examining the relationship between social capital and the effectiveness of public service in Jiangsu province of China. Overall, the findings revealed that migrant’s social capital positively affects their perceptions of public service provision. Specifically, the structural dimension of social capital plays a role in expanding information channels. In contrast, the relational dimension of social capital works through shared norms and trust, eventually improving migrants’ fairness perception. Notably, these effects are more prominent in education, employment assistance, and minimum livelihood security than in other services. Further, the findings revealed that regional differences are more pronounced in the central part of the study area, where the current public service system is weak. Put differently; social capital can have a more significant effect when the construction of public service is constrained. It is also found that social capital plays a more important role for migrants working in the manufacturing industry than in other sectors. This study has significant implications for policymakers with a new perspective of social capital for improving the quality of public service and making it more available to migrants.