Cooperation or Distrust? How Social Capital Affects Economic Behavior Strategies

Abstract

The article examines influence of the level of social capital on economic behavior. For the most part, empirical studies in this area focus on indices of social trust and civil participation. Meanwhile, the level of network capital is often neglected. Presuppositions of this model are analyzed in the article; on this basis, it is shown that making these assumptions leads to assessing the social climate of given society and to statements on the existence or non-existence of civil society. The author tries to analyze social capital in Russian society fixing attention on the network aspect. It is shown, on the basis of data analysis, that the level and structure of social capital predetermine the probability of following certain economic strategies, and in particular this is important for the phenomenon of substitution of formal institutions' work for using informal ties. Further interpretation leads to problematization of a generally accepted statement that the level of social capital and the level of trust are interconnected. Thus, it is shown that examining of network aspect of social capital yields results conflicting with the premises of the traditional conception of social capital.