ACCESS TO SOCIAL CAPITAL

Defining social capital as perceived access to time and money help fro m friends and family, this article examines (a) the stock of social ca pital to which families have access, (b) the trade-off between access to money and time help, and (9) the association between perceived acce ss to time and money help and conventional measures of family economic well-being. Data come from the 1980 wave of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, an ongoing longitudinal survey of U.S. households. More tha n 9 out of 10 families reported access to social capital. Some evidenc e for isolation from social capital among families with a less-educate d or older head was found. Surprisingly families in very poor neighbor hoods reported more access to social capital, primarily in friend-base d networks. Finally, geographic mobility leads to increased social iso lation, because it reduces family ties.