THE VARIETY OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN WELFARE STATE REGIMES – A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF 21 COUNTRIES

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article we examine the occurrence of social capital in 21 different countries. Our study starts from the premise that the countries under scrutiny represent different kinds of welfare state regimes. The concept of social capital we separate here into bonding social capital, bridging social capital, generalized trust and informal support. Our main question is whether or not social capital varies systematically between different welfare state regimes. In this respect, our aim is to put to the test two opposite assumptions: the society-centred hypothesis that assumes that strong welfare states may weaken the preconditions in which social capital emerges and the institution-centred hypothesis that assumes that social capital emerges expressly in societies with strong welfare state institutions. Although mainly confirming the latter assumption, our research findings also emphasize the fact that the different forms of social capital are connected to welfare state regimes in different ways. On the basis of our results, it is possible that the welfare state both prevents and promotes the development of social capital, depending on the respective meanings given to social capital.1 1Research is funded by the Academy of Finland, research program ‘Social Capital and Networks of Trust’.