The development of social capital

This paper investigates whether a family's access to social capital-defined here as perceived access to time and money help in an emergency from kin a nd friends-depends upon the family's past time and money investments in tho se kin and friends. It also examines the potential tradeoffs between money and time help from friends and relatives. Data come from parents of childre n under age 18 who responded to a supplement on time and money assistance i ncluded in the 1980 wave of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The results suggest that while parents who invest primarily in friend-based help netwo rks have greater potential access to assistance from friends, there is no s ignificant link between investment in family and access to family-based ass istance. Thus, while exchange describes social-capital linkages to friends, it does not describe family-based behaviors. Other Endings are that time a nd money appear to be complements while investments in friends or family ar e substitutes.