Disentangling the Impact of Civil Association Membership on Political Participation: Evidence from Swedish Panel Data

Linuz Aggeborn,Pär Nyman,Nazita Lajevardi

doi:10.1017/s0007123419000772

Abstract

AbstractWhat is the effect of membership in civil associations on political participation? Membership has been linked to providing social capital and personal networks, which in turn help citizens more easily navigate politics. Yet this link is empirically complex, since politically interested individuals self-select into networks and associations. This research note addresses the impact of membership on different forms of political participation using a panel survey from Sweden that distinguishes between passive and active membership in various types of associations. The baseline results reaffirm a strong association between membership and political participation. The survey's panel dimension is exploited to reveal that earlier scholarship has likely overstated the robustness of membership's participatory effects. Rather, the remaining impact of association membership in the panel specification is mainly driven by types of associations for which the highest degree of selection behaviour is expected.

Highlights

Social capital is a central resource that increases trust (Fukuyama 1995; Ostrom and Ahn 2008; Putnam 2000) and connects individuals, different groups and societies (Verba and Nie 1987). Putnam (2000, 19) describes social capital as ‘connections among individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them’
Recent scholarly work in political science has begun to challenge traditional taken-for-granted causal relationships that affect political participation, such as the positive correlation between education and political participation, by arguing that self-selection might be driving these relationships. We extend this line of research and argue that the positive relationship between membership in civil society organizations and political participation is plagued by self-selection
Schofer and Fourcade-Gourinchas (2001) summarize evidence from the World Values Survey and find Sweden, Iceland and the United States are at the top, while Japan, France and Italy are at the bottom. 4This includes contacting municipal civil servants, writing opinion pieces, signing petitions, demonstrating and protesting, and other local political activities. 5Outcome variables originate from the ULF survey, except voter turnout in the last election, which we developed from register data

Summary

Introduction

Social capital is a central resource that increases trust (Fukuyama 1995; Ostrom and Ahn 2008; Putnam 2000) and connects individuals, different groups and societies (Verba and Nie 1987). Putnam (2000, 19) describes social capital as ‘connections among individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them’. We extend this line of research and argue that the positive relationship between membership in civil society organizations and political participation is plagued by self-selection.

Results

Conclusion