179.5
Inequalities in Social Capital and Socio-Economic Status in the Post-Industrial Cities of Central and Eastern Europe

Friday, July 18, 2014: 9:30 AM
Room: 419
Oral Presentation
Pawel STAROSTA , Institute of Sociology, University of Lodz (Poland), Lodz, Poland
Kamil BRZEZIńSKI , University of Lodz (Poland), Łódź, Poland
XVIII  ISA WORLD CONGRESS OF SOCIOLOGY

Paweł Starosta

Kamil Brzeziński

Institute of Sociology

University of Lodz, Poland

starosta@uni.lodz.pl

kamilbrzezinski84@gmail.com

Inequalities in Social Capital and Socio-Economic Status in the Post-industrial Cities of Central  and Eastern  Europe

Abstract

 for joint session of  RC03 and RC09 

Development and Inequalities  in Post-Socialist Countries: Comparative Perspectives

            The main purpose  of the  paper is to explain some differentiations in the levels of social  capital and  socio-economic status between the inhabitants of post-industrial cities in Central  and Eastern Europe .

In accordance with the sociological literature, two components of social capital will be  considered: trust and social networks. Socio-economic status will be analyzed by level of education, monthly income, and job situation.

The main thesis of the paper is the assumption that in the post-industrial cities of Central and Eastern Europe  access to social capital is not highly associated with the socio-economic status of inhabitants.   

The empirical basis for the  paper is a database from surveys carried out in selected post-industrial  cities of  Poland, Russia, Hungary and Lithuania. In each of the above countries one city was selected in order to conduct a survey of representative samples of inhabitants  between  the ages of eighteen and seventy.

The empirical investigation was carried out in the year 2012 with the financial support of National Centre of Science in Poland.