How Social Capital Fosters Local Community

The importance of social capital lies in its ability to promote cooperation with strangers, and then resolve social dilemmas. In this view, this study empirically examines functioning of social capital in the social structure of local communities. Local community is defined as a social system that consists of interactions for managing public goods and common pool goods necessary for local life, namely regional common goods. It is inevitable for local communities to control free riding on regional common goods, that is why social capital embedded in the local social structure has significance. Data are taken from surveys conducted by the author in Kumamoto and Takeo in Japan, between 2021 and 2022.

General trust is measured by the standard questions. Generalized reciprocity is measured by social cognition regarding penetration of the norm, and additionally experience and memory of receiving help from distantly related people. Analysis target is neighborhood free riding－free riding on regional common goods managed by neighborhood associations. The numbers of participating groups and involved activities other than those related to neighborhood associations are network indicators that show the likelihood of bridging ties through people's diverse social relations. We examine how social capital enhances neighborhood free riders to have general cooperative attitude, that is measured by willingness to participate in town development efforts and will to help operation of evacuation shelters during a disaster.

Results of logistic regression analysis show that being a neighborhood free rider weakens the general cooperative attitude. However, when social capital variables are added, the previous negative effects disappear. The types of social capital that show a consistent promoting effect are the number of involved activities other than those neighborhood association related and social cognition of generalized reciprocity. General trust unexpectedly shows any positive effect.