Social Exclusion and Forms of Social Capital: Czech Evidence on Mutual Links

Abstract

In this article the authors investigate the relevance of social capital to the economic and social inclusion of economically disadvantaged people. The analysis is based on data from a survey conducted on a special kind of sample, which is homogenous in one dimension of economic exclusion (income disadvantage), enabling a more in-depth study of how strongly this dimension of exclusion is associated with other dimensions of economic and social exclusion and how various forms and patterns of social capital influence economic and social inclusion (in these dimensions). The results of the analysis confirm that individual forms of social capital often play distinct and mutually independent roles. The analysis also reaffirmed findings that informal social capital is more important in the post-communist Czech Republic than formal capital and that the level of formal social participation and trust is quite low even in this specific population. All forms of social capital (distinguished here in terms of Woolcock's typology) have proven to be substantially associated with a degree of material deprivation; with informal networks showing the strongest correlation. Although these networks provide some protection against social exclusion, they are not a reliable buffer, since people of lower economic and social status have limited access to 'quality' social networks, and other forms of social capital are often absent.