Mind the Gap! Social Capital, East and West

Jan Fidrmuc and Klarita Gërxhani

No wp888, William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series from William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Abstract: Recent Eurobarometer survey data are used to document and explain the stock of social capital in 28 European countries. Social capital in Central and Eastern Europe – measured by civic participation and access to social networks – lags behind that in Western European countries. Using regression analysis of determinants of individual stock of social capital, we find that this gap persists when we account for individual characteristics and endowments of respondents but disappears completely after we control for aggregate measures of economic development and quality of institutions. Informal institutions such as prevalence of corruption in post-communist countries appear particularly important. With the enlargement of the European Union, the gap in social capital should gradually disappear as the new member states catch up (economically and institutionally) with the old ones.

Keywords: social capital; institutions; capitalism; transition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O17 O57 P37 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: pages
Date: 2007-06-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec, nep-soc and nep-tra
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Mind the gap! Social capital, East and West (2008)
Working Paper: Mind the Gap! Social Capital, East and West (2007)
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