Structuration Theory / Structural Theory

Robert D. Putnam
(b. 1941)
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/news/commentary/growing-class-gap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Putnam).


Summary:
Social capital refers to social relationships or networks among people that enable them to obtain financial and other necessary resources. Beugelsdijk and Smulders (2003) stated that there is no one way to define social capital because many different fields of study have used it to describe social networks and how those networks can impact resources.


According to Putnam (2000), Hanifan, was one of the first to write about social capital in 1916. Hanifan used it to refer to community involvement in public school. Putnam himself became one of the best known leaders in the field of social capital research. He encouraged people to increase and develop their resources, or “social capital”. Putnam found that social capital could be increased through social interactions either with family members and close friends or informal social contacts in the community. Most researchers use social capital to refer to the relationship between two or more people that enables them to develop economic and other resources. Fukuyama felt that social capital encouraged interaction between people and was related to norms and ideals within cultures and families.


Bonding and bridging are two types of social capital. Bonding is one of the most important social networks that increase human and capital. Bonding refers to social ties between family members and close friends. Because of this, trust is one of the foundations of social capital and an important part of bonding. Trust is how people interact without having boundaries and restrictions on their behavior. Other critiques stated that bonding refers to exclusive or isolating relationships within different social groups and how they relate to those outside those groups.


Bridging is the second type of social capital. Bridging is a method of reducing expenses and helping people become more independent. It refers to the relationship between people who have never met before. Putnam defines bridging as “inclusive” and links it to seeking help outside one’s family and close friends to agencies within their community. Bridging is described as a weak form of social capital when compared to bonding. However, Putnam states that having both bonding and bridging together increases one’s ability to obtain resources.


Level of Analysis:
Social capital exists at the level of individual, family, group, and community.

Methods:
Mixed methods

Application:
The larger a person’s social capital, the more resources they will have and the better chance they will have of obtaining satisfactory housing. Social networks change with the need of the person. For people who have limited financial resources, social capital serves as a major way of accessing financial and other capital.


The concepts of bonding and bridging capital can be applied to cross-cultural studies of housing. For example, close family relationships are the most important type of social capital in Saudi Arabia. Bonding, or contacts within one’s own family, is the main type of social capital used to access housing. A newly married couple in this country who are seeking their first home will depend on the couple’s family contacts in order to find the right house as well as financial assistance. In western countries, on the other hand, bridging appears to be the main avenue for obtaining housing and financial resources. Homeowners and renters depend more on informal networks such as banks, real estate companies, and other community agencies as the main way to find help as well as funding for purchasing and renting housing.


It is important to have a sufficient amount of social capital through social networks in order to meet one’s financial and other needs. Usually an increase in one type of social capital results in a decrease in the other. The type of social capital a person uses will depend upon their cultural and family norms.


References:
Agnitsch, K., Flora, J., Ryan, V. (2006, March) Bonding and bridging social capital: The interactive effects on community action. Journal of the Community Development Society 37 (1), 1-16.
Putnam, R.D. (2000). Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Community, New York: Simon and Schuster. (pp. 21-28)
Beugelsdijk, S., Smulders, S. (2003) Bridging and bonding social capital: Which type is good for economic growth? Retrieved March 13, 2009 from: http://www.eea-esem.com/papers/eea-esem/2003/119/EEA2003.pdf
Fukuyama, F. (1997, May) Social capital: The problem of measurement. Mediterranean Development Forum I. Voices from Marrakech: Towards Competitive and Caring Societies in the Middle East and North Africa, May 12-17, Marrakech, Morocco. Retrieved March 8, 2009 from: http://www.worldbank.org/mdf/mdf1/socicap.htm.
Salehi-Isfahani, D. & Dhillon, N. (2008, October). Stalled youth transitions in the Middle East: A framework for policy reform. Executive Summary. The Middle East Youth Initiative Working Paper, Number 8. Wolfensohn Center for Development. Dubai School of Government. Dubai, Saudi Arabia. Retrieved February 15, 2008 from: http://www.prio.no/upload/prio/file_Stalled_Transitions_final.pdf

Siisiainen, M. (2000, July 5-8) Two concepts of social capital: Bourdieu vs. Putnam. Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy. Paper presented at the ISTR Fourth International Conference, Dublin, Ireland.