Explicating Social Capital: Trust and Participation in the Civil Space

According to some commentators, social capital, i.e., the nature of trust and participation in the civil space, may influence population health, political performance and/or economic growth. In the social capital literature, however, the relationship between trust and participation in social networks in the civil space isunderdeveloped theoretically and empirically. Respondents to a survey in Saskatchewan, Canada trusted people from nearby communities the most, experts and professionals less strongly and governments least of all, suggesting a multifaceted notion of trust, although those who trusted one referent tended to express trust for another, suggesting continuity to its character in the self. Religious affiliation proved one of the most salient predictors of trust, suggesting an intriguing link between faith and trust. Respondents who participated in many secondary associations in the civil space were relatively more trusting, as were those who participated in cooperative associations and in g roups with an interest in furthering some common good. Resume: Selon certains commentateurs, le capital social, c.-a-d. Ia mesure de la confiance et de la participation a la vie civique, pourrait influencer la sante des populations, la performance politique et/ou la croissance economique. Dans la litterature du capital social, toutefois, la relation entre la confiance et la participation aux reseaux sociaux du milieu civique est sous-developpee, tant du point de vue theorique qu'empirique. Les sujets interroges lors d'un sondage mene en Saskatchewan (Canada) accordaient leur plus grande confiance aux gens des collectivites avoisinantes, mais avaient moins confiance aux experts et aux professionnels, et moms encore aux gouvernements, ce qui suggere une notion polyvalente de la confiance. Par ailleurs, les personnes qui disaient avoir confiance a l'une des categories mentionnees tendaient a exprimer leur confiance envers une autre, ce qui suggere une continuite de son caractere au sein du moi. L'appartenance religieuse s'est avere etre l'une des meilleures variable s predictives de la confiance, ce qui suggere un lien fascinant entre foi et confiance. Les sujets interroges qui participaient a de nombreuses associations secondaires au sein du milieu civique etaient relativement plus disposes a faire confiance, tout comme l'etaient ceux qui participaient a des associations cooperatives et a des groupes voues a la poursuite d'un bien commun. Introduction The notion of social capital has attained some prominence in rather disparate arenas of discourse. Researchers argue that certain characteristics of the civil space, i.e., trust and participation in social networks, may constitute a valuable resource for social groups, communities or societies. In the world of public health research, for example, social capital, or social cohesion, a closely related concept, is thought to constitute an important determinant of the health of populations (e.g. Wilkinson, 1996; Kawachi et al., 1997; Lynch and Kaplan, 1997; Coburn, 2000; Hawe and Shiell, 2000; Kawachi and Berkman, 2000; Lynch et al., 2000; Putnam, 2000; Veenstra, 2000, 2001, 2002). Kawachi and Berkman (2000) speculate that interpersonal trust and participation in networks may influence the health of individuals directly, e.g., by providing social support for people, but also indirectly, e.g., interpersonal trust may accompany egalitarian patterns of participation that influence health-relevant state policies pert aining to education, transportation or the distribution of wealth. In like manner, social capital is thought to promote the performance and character of political institutions (e.g. Putnam et al., 1993; Rice and Sumberg, 1997; Veenstra and Lomas, 1999; Coburn, 2000) and economic growth and development (e.g. Helliwell and Putnam, 1995; Knack and Keefer, 1997; Temple, 1998; Woolcock, 1998, 2001). …