Inequality in social capital: assessing the importance of structural factors and cultural consumption for social advantage. A case from Poland

ABSTRACT

While the benefits of social capital are well recognized in sociology, less is known about its distribution in a society. The present study therefore examines individual differences in access to resourceful networks, adding new insight into underlying mechanism of social capital accumulation. Building on the recent development in cultural sociology and social network theories, it is hypothesized that people who consume more diverse cultural items (omnivores) have better social capital as they develop a wider range of social contacts. Social capital is also dependent on structural variables: social status and the nature of social ties. These arguments are tested with a survey data collected in Poland in 2017, on a local representative sample of adults aged 18–75 years. The empirical analyses support the hypothesis on the relationship between cultural tastes and social capital and show that access to social resources is intertwined with stratification. Additionally, maintaining relationships with household members usually lowers the overall amount of social capital, while membership in organizations increases it. Contrary to the cultural reproduction argument, there are indications that cultural tastes are more positively related to social capital among lower than higher status groups which ties in with cultural mobility hypothesis.

KEYWORDS:

• Social capital
• position generator
• cultural tastes
• social stratification
• sociability
• omnivorousness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 In this study I distinguish social capital understood as socioeconomic resources one has access to (my dependent variable) from social relationships (and their features) – their potential correlates (cf. Lin, 2008), while being fully aware that these two phenomena may be conceptualized as different aspects of one social capital. However, because the aim of the study is to explain drivers of social resources (of instrumental character), the narrower understanding seems to be justified (cf. Van Tubergen & Volker, 2015). It enables us to answer the question, what patterns of sociability are most relevant in gaining potential social advantage.

2 This is not the same as Granovetter’s (1973) division into weak and strong ties, but it still reflects the idea of closer and further social circles.

3 The project number 2016/21/D/HS6/02424.

4 The list comprised: lawyer, doctor, scientist, teacher, IT specialist, businessman/owner (other than respondent's employer), local politician, journalist, mechanic, book-keeper/accountant, artist/actor/musician, counter clerk, nurse, construction worker or finisher.

5 Status of contacts: M = 51.4, SD = 16.8, N = 871; the range of positions: M = 44.8, SD = 21.8, N = 871.

6 This interpretation was supported by bivariate analyses. According to expectations the number of highbrow films was positively related with respondent's interest in visual arts (a proxy measure of embodied cultural capital; range: 1–5) (rho = 0.271; p < 0.001; N = 868) and this correlation was stronger than for the number of lowbrow films (rho = 0.131; p < 0.001; N = 868).

7 In statistical models I estimated the effect of the logged index to correct for skewness toward low number of pairs.

8 For the sake of simplicity, I only use the extreme categories of taste omitting the ‘middlebrow’ category. This makes it possible to grasp omnivorousness as the ability to combine "opposite" elements of culture.

9 A similar measurement was used by Van Tubergen and Volker (2015, p. 528).

10 Both parents’ education was measured on a four-point scale, ranging from 1 – ‘primary or no education’ to 4 – ‘higher education’. Missing data was replaced by the value of the second parent's education (if available). Both variables were highly correlated (r = 0,761; p < 0.01) and created a single factor solution in PCA that explained 88,06% of variance of original variables.

11 The list included also: DVD/Blu-ray player, automatic washing machine, allotment/holiday cabin, set for receiving digital or satellite television/cable television, private flat or house.

12 The number of observations for ‘omnivorousness – cultural practices’ is lower than for other variables due to listwise deletion of missing values.

13 All models have been checked for multicollinearity (VIF < 4.5).

14 Social capital is not inherited directly from the parents but results from following similar social trajectory.

15 This result persists independently of any control variables so it is not affected by the predictors included.

16 This result is also maintained in the regression model where the explained variable is the total number of connections in the position generator (data available on request).

17 For the model on the status of contacts, there was no statistically significant interaction effect, but the regression coefficient are ordered according to expectation.

18 For culinary omnivorousness there was no statistically significant interaction effect but the regression coefficient indicated support for the cultural reproduction hypothesis.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Centre Poland [grant number 2016/21/D/HS6/02424].

Notes on contributors

Michał Cebula

Michał Cebula is an assistant professor at the Institute of Sociology, University of Wrocław, Poland. His main areas of interests include social stratification, social classes, consumption patterns, lifestyles and social networks. His current research concerns the dynamics of personal social networks and their mutual relationships with consumption tastes and practices. His work has appeared in Sociological Inquiry and Polish Sociological Review.