Kin, Friend and Community Social Capital: Effects on Well-Being and Prospective Life Conditions in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of social capital on perceived and predicted wellbeing in three East Asian countries. On the basis of a multi-layered approach to measuring social capital by both trust in and interactions with kin, friends and neighbors, an individual’s happiness, life satisfaction, and the prospective life conditions over three life course phases are estimated using regression techniques. Trust generally is correlated with an individual’s well-being, but the degree of covariation differs across different types of trust. These exists a persistent, substantial influence of community involvement on perceived well-being and predicted life condition in old age. Trust in neighbors is not necessary for those with high community involvement, which is a major explanatory factor in predicting well-being in old age. In addition, the estimation outcomes from the interaction model do not suggest that the dark side of such trust is a concern.