Individual-Level Determinants of Social Capital in Europe: Differences between Country Groups

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of various individual-level determinants on social capital in Europe, in order to find out whether there are differences between the transition and non-transition countries. The novelty lies in more comprehensive sets of both determinants and dimensions of social capital covered. Data from World Values Survey for 31 European countries (including 16 transition countries) are analysed. Based on the estimation results of the measurement and structural model for all countries separately, the countries are clustered into three groups to complement the comparison of transition and non-transition countries. Differently from the previous results, the findings of this study provide support for the argument that the sources of social capital are remarkably different in transition and non-transition countries. Moreover, the results indicate that within both of these country groups subgroups have to be distinguished.