The Emergence of a COVID-19 Related Social Capital: The Case of China

Abstract

This paper develops a new concept called virus-combat social capital and presents relevant findings from a survey of 3009 Chinese WeChat networkers. Virus-combat social capital is defined by the intensity and extensity of social connectedness under conditions of physical isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey shows that as compared to their counterparts, Chinese people with higher virus-combat social capital consistently do better in both behavioral responses and measures of quality of life.

Keywords:

• Virus-combat social capital
• COVID-19
• behavioral response
• quality of life
• China

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 As of 10 June, 2020, more than 160 potential vaccines for COVID-19 are under development, with most still in the early phases of testing. An optimistic estimate is that a viable vaccine may be ready by the end of 2020. Available at https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200610/covid-19-latest-updates. [Accessed 18.06.2020].

2 Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus coordinator, addressing the American public at the U.S. White House coronavirus task force news conference, Washington, D.C., 31 March, 2020.

3 Xinhua News Agency, “China at ‘crucial stage’ to control novel coronavirus, experts say.” China Central Television, available at http://english.cctv.com/2020/01/22/ARTIUwB4aawKly16HkIWPa3U200122.shtml.

Additional information

Funding

National Philosophy Social Science Project of China (No.13&ZD177). Social Science Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (No. 17XJC840002).

Notes on contributors

Yanjie Bian

Yanjie Bian is Professor of Sociology at University of Minnesota. Concurrently, he is Director of the Institute for Empirical Social Science Research at Xi’an Jiaotong University. An author of 20 books and more than 180 scholarly articles on topics of social networks, social capital, social stratification, and Chinese society, Dr. Bian’s current research projects are job-search networks and virus-combat social capital in China. His most recent book is Guanxi: How China Works (Polity Press, 2019).

Xiaolei Miao

Xiaolei Miao is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at Xi’an Jiaotong University. His research interests are in cybernetworks, social capital, and Chinese society. His research articles have been published in Chinese Journal of Sociology, Review of Sociology, and Youth Studies, all in Chinese.

Xiaolin Lu

Xiaolin Lu is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at Xi’an Jiaotong University. Her research interests are in big-data analysis, cybernetworks, social capital, and Chinese society.

Xulei Ma

Xulei Ma is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at Xi’an Jiaotong University. Her research interests are in social capital, youth development, and Chinese society.

Xiaoxian Guo

Xiaoxian Guo is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Institute for Empirical Social Science Research at Xi’an Jiaotong University. Her research interests are in social networks, social capital, and Chinese society. Her publications have appeared in Social Indicators Research and a number of top-tier Chinese social science journals.