How much does social capital add to individual health? A survey study of Russians

Some Russians are healthier than others. To what extent does their health v ary with involvement or exclusion from social capital networks? The first s ection reviews alternative theories: human capital as the primary determina nt; social capital, whether generic, situation-specific or simply a new lab el for old measures of social integration; or a composite theory - both hum an and social capital are major determinants of health. The evidence to tes t hypotheses consists of individual-level data about self-assessed physical and emotional health from the special-purpose social capital questionnaire used in the 1998 New Russia Barometer survey, a nationwide representative sample of the adult Russian population. Multiple regression analysis shows that on their own human capital and social capital each account for a notab le amount of variance in health. When both forms of capital are combined in a composite model, each retains major influence, demonstrating that social capital does make an independent contribution to health. Significant socia l capital influences include involvement or exclusion from formal and infor mal networks; friends to rely on when ill; control over one's own life; and trust. Significant human capital influences besides age include subjective social status, gender and income. Regression-based estimates of impact sho w that social capital increases physical and emotional health more than hum an capital; together they can easily raise an individual's self-reported he alth from just below average on a five-point scale to approaching good heal th. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.