Understanding Social Capital

Empirical analyses of social capital have been hindered by the inability of researchers to arrive at a consensus as to how this concept should be defined and how it operates in communities. Research also lacks accepted, statistically validated measures of social capital. The purpose of this project is to develop a firmer conceptual and operational definition of social capital. Two elements of social capital, the norm of reciprocity and bounded solidarity, are examined. Survey questions pertaining to each are administered to 56 individuals who have immigrated to Winnipeg from the Philippines. Factor analyses conducted on the data find two important elements underlying the norm of reciprocity, namely the expectation of return for debts owed, and the importance of in-group trust in reciprocity. Analyses of the survey items pertaining to bounded solidarity were less promising, indicating this concept must be further refined theoretically before it can be accurately studied quantitatively.