The Functions of Social Drinking and Eating in East Asian Societies

East Asians are widely known for social networking on drinking-eating occasions. Does one’s social drinking-eating networking (SDE-Net) generate similar or different kinds of social capital across East Asian societies? Analyzing the 2012 EASS module on network social capital, we explore sociological determinants and consequences of SDE-Net in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. On the determinants, our ongoing analysis is designed to include both variables of the respondent’s attributes (e.g., gender, age, education, & class) and those about their social relationships (daily contacts and New Year socialization). On the consequences, we will examine the extent to which SDE-Net affects an individual’s financial decision, social engagement, and political participation. Our analysis is guided by a micro-level theory of social capital mobilization (Lin 2001), a macro-level theory of modernization (Inkeles 1974), and the accumulated knowledge of East Asian social networks (Bian and Ikeda 2013).