Local Capitalism, Civic Engagement, and Socioeconomic Well-Being

Abstract

This analysis is designed to extend a newly emerging body of social stratification research grounded in theories of civil society. The goal of this larger body of research and writing is to provide an alternative social and economic developmentparadigm to the dominant neoclassical/rational choice/human capital perspective. In an economic world woven together by global marketforces, local social structures can become key variables that influence which places prosper and which decline. We begin by hypothesizing that local capitalism and civic engagement variables are associated with positive socioeconomic outcomes (higher income levels and lower levels of income inequality, poverty, and unemployment). To test these notions, we employ data on more than 3,000 U.S. counties. Net of the substantial effects of the control variables, three measures of local civic society -small manufacturing establishments, familyfarms, and civically engaged religious denominations - vary as hypothesized in three offour models. The performance of these local capitalism and civic engagement variables suggests a robust association with beneficial local socioeconomic outcomes. We conclude by outlining needed research on civil society that would contributefurther to a social developmentperspective. Over the past twenty-five years, social scientists have begun to define the contours of a global system of economic production and mass consumption (Wallerstein 1974). During this time, the orienting frame for analysis has shifted from an