The Impact of Social Capital on Volunteering and Giving: Evidence From Urban China

TLDR

The impact of social capital on philanthropy has been studied extensively, but existing research fails to measure social capital consistently and completely. The study expands social capital measurements to include civic networks, norms of reciprocity, institutional trust, acquaintance trust, and stranger trust using a representative 2013 survey of urban Chinese citizens. The authors employed Tobit regression and a Heckman selection model to analyze the relationship between the expanded social capital indicators and philanthropic behavior. Civic networks, reciprocity norms, institutional trust, and stranger trust positively predict both volunteering and giving, while acquaintance trust negatively predicts giving but not volunteering, highlighting a complex social‑capital–philanthropy relationship in China.

Abstract

The impact of social capital on philanthropy has been studied extensively, but existing research fails to measure social capital consistently and completely. Using a representative data set from the 2013 Survey on Philanthropic Behaviors of Urban Citizens in China, this study first expanded existing social capital measurements to be more comprehensive, consisting of civic networks, norms of reciprocity, institutional trust, acquaintance trust, and stranger trust. Tobit regression and Heckman selection model were then used to explore the impact of social capital on philanthropy in China. Regression analyses indicate that civic network, norms of reciprocity, institutional trust, and stranger trust are positively associated with both volunteering and giving in the Chinese context. In addition, acquaintance trust is negatively correlated with giving, but has no significant association with volunteering. These findings provide insights to better understanding the complex relationship between social capital and philanthropy, especially in non-Western contexts.