Social Capital and the Family: Evidence that Strong Family Ties Cultivate Civic Virtues

Martin Ljunge

Economica, 2015, vol. 82, issue 325, 103-136

Abstract: type="main" xml:id="ecca12102-abs-0001" xml:lang="en">

I establish a positive relationship between family ties and civic virtues, as captured by disapproval of tax and benefit cheating, corruption and a range of other dimensions of exploiting others for personal gain. I find that family ties are a complement to social capital, using within-country evidence from 83 nations and data on second-generation immigrants in 29 countries. Strong families cultivate Universalist values and produce more civic and altruistic individuals. The results provide a constructive role for families in promoting family values, which challenge an ‘amoral familism’. Moreover, strong families are complementary with more developed and democratic institutions.

Date: 2015
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Working Paper: Social Capital and the Family: Evidence that Strong Family Ties Cultivate Civic Virtues (2013)
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