INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL EVIDENCE FOR THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL CAPITAL

Theory: Social capital is the web of cooperative relationships between citizens that facilitates resolution of collection action problems (C oleman 1990; Putnam 1993). Although normally conceived as a property o f communities, the reciprocal relationship between community involveme nt and trust in others is a demonstration of social capital in individ ual behavior and attitudes. Hypotheses: Variation in social capital ca n be explained by citizens' psychological involvement with their commu nities, cognitive abilities, economic resources, and general life sati sfaction. This variation affects citizens' confidence in national inst itutions, beyond specific controls for measures of actual performance. Methods: We analyze the pooled General Social Surveys from 1972 to 19 94 in a latent variables framework incorporating aggregate contextual data. Results: Civic engagement and interpersonal trust are in a tight reciprocal relationship, where the connection is stronger from partic ipation to interpersonal trust, rather than the reverse.