SOCIAL CAPTIAL

It’s Not Just What You Know, But Who You Know

Social capital is our relationships, social connections, and social networks and the value these networks bring to us. These networks provide us access to resources and benefits, and people use their social capital to make connections for jobs, find information, or get connected to the right resources. Social capital is integral to the Circles Model.

Excerpt From: The Role of Social Capital in Supporting Economic Mobility

Social capital is generally unevenly distributed throughout society. Social networks may be smaller or weaker for low-income individuals because they lack family or other social connections to institutions, such as higher education, that are critical for upward economic mobility (Small, 2007). Furthermore, relationships with family members, friends, or others may be limited by a lack of ability to fully reciprocate. Relationships that are used for social networking often implicitly require reciprocity, which can be risky if the other party in the relationship also faces many challenges (e.g., lack of money, housing needs, unstable employment, criminal involvement) (Dominguez & Watkins, 2003; Hogan, Eggebeen, & Clogg, 1993; Mazelis, 2017; Smith & Broege, 2012). For example, formerly incarcerated individuals may attempt to use their social network to search for jobs, but friends and relatives may not be willing to make referrals due to their criminal justice history (Smith & Broege, 2012). Low-income individuals may also have few connections to high-status individuals or institutions that can help provide valuable economic opportunities because of factors such as unemployment, incarceration, neighborhood and spatial segregation, limited economic mobility, and generational poverty (Putnam & Sander, 2009; Smith & Broege, 2012).

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Additional Resources and External Links

Social Capital Quiz
Social Capital Quiz

Social Capital Quiz

This quiz contains a total of 26 questions. The first 20 will measure how much social capital you have, while the last six will help our researchers understand how social capital differs between people.
Vast New Study Shows a Key to Reducing Poverty: More Friendships Between Rich and Poor
Vast New Study Shows a Key to Reducing Poverty: More Friendships Between Rich and Poor

Vast New Study Shows a Key to Reducing Poverty: More Friendships Between Rich and Poor

For poor children, living in an area where people have more friendships that cut across class lines significantly increases how much they earn in adulthood, the new research found.

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