TY - JOUR
T1 - A paradigm for social capital
AU - Sandefur, Rebecca L.
AU - Laumann, Edward O.
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper is a revision and extension of a section of a paper presented at a conference in honor of James S. Coleman, Mannheim, Germany, 2 November 1996. This research was supported in part by grants from the American Bar Foundation and the National Science Foundation (#SBR-9411515). We thank Charles E. Bidwell, Ronald S. Burt, John P. Heinz, Ray Reagans, Ezra W. Zuckerman, Mary Brinton and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments suggestions. Gratitude is due, too, to Michael Reay for his patience. The views presented in this paper are the authors' alone, and they are responsible for any errors.
PY - 1998/11
Y1 - 1998/11
N2 - This paper reconsiders James S. Coleman's concept of social capital. The concept has gained wide use and acceptance in sociology since its first publication, but, Coleman's own writings on the subject remain to date its most extensive analytic treatment. We make two contributions to social capital theory. First, we recast social capital theory to focus on benefits rather than forms. We identify three benefits that forms of social capital may confer: information, influence and control, and social solidarity. In the context of a focus on benefits, we consider how a specific form of social capital may vary in the degree to which its benefits generalize to different kinds of goals, and how forms that are valuable for some purposes may be a liability for other purposes. Second, we emphasize social capital's origin in aspects of social structure that actors may appropriate to use in their interests. We suggest how changes in the social structure of which social capital is an aspect may affect the emergence and persistence of forms of social capital and may condition the value of given forms.
AB - This paper reconsiders James S. Coleman's concept of social capital. The concept has gained wide use and acceptance in sociology since its first publication, but, Coleman's own writings on the subject remain to date its most extensive analytic treatment. We make two contributions to social capital theory. First, we recast social capital theory to focus on benefits rather than forms. We identify three benefits that forms of social capital may confer: information, influence and control, and social solidarity. In the context of a focus on benefits, we consider how a specific form of social capital may vary in the degree to which its benefits generalize to different kinds of goals, and how forms that are valuable for some purposes may be a liability for other purposes. Second, we emphasize social capital's origin in aspects of social structure that actors may appropriate to use in their interests. We suggest how changes in the social structure of which social capital is an aspect may affect the emergence and persistence of forms of social capital and may condition the value of given forms.
KW - Influence and control
KW - Information
KW - Social capital
KW - Social solidarity
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U2 - 10.1177/104346398010004005
DO - 10.1177/104346398010004005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:22444456362
SN - 1043-4631
VL - 10
SP - 481
EP - 501
JO - Rationality and Society
JF - Rationality and Society
IS - 4
ER -