Social capital--networks of civic engagements, norms of reciprocity, and attitudes of trust--is widely seen as playing a key role for the health of democracy. While many authors have examined the consequences of social capital, there is a pressing need to explore its sources. This collection brings together leading American and European scholars in the first comparative analysis of how social trust and other civic attitudes are generated. The contributors to this volume examine the generation of social capital from two directions: society-based approaches that emphasize voluntary associations, and institutional approaches that emphasize policy.
Author(s): Dietlind Stolle, Marc Hooghe
Edition: First Edition
Year: 2003
Language: English
Pages: 288
Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgments......Page 8
1 Introduction: Generating Social Capital......Page 10
2 The Sources of Social Capital......Page 28
3 Democracy in France: Do Associations Matter?......Page 52
4 The Importance of Passive Membership for Social Capital Formation......Page 76
5 Voluntary Associations and Democratic Attitudes: Value Congruence as a Causal Mechanism......Page 98
6 Associations or Informal Networks? Social Capital and Local Development Practices......Page 122
7 Rain or Fog? An Empirical Examination of Social Capital’s Rainmaker Effects......Page 142
8 A Tale of Two Cities: Local Patterns of Social Capital......Page 162
9 Trust, Democracy and Governance: Can Government Policies Influence Generalized Trust?......Page 180
10 Social Capital, Impartiality and the Welfare State: An Institutional Approach......Page 200
11 Institutions and Their Impact on Social Capital and Civic Culture: The Case of Italy......Page 220
12 Conclusion: The Sources of Social Capital Reconsidered......Page 240
About the Authors......Page 258
C......Page 260
G......Page 261
N......Page 262
S......Page 263
V......Page 264
W......Page 265
