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Developing a Social Capital Index for the Netherlands

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Abstract

This paper integrates a set of independent social capital indicators into one index by using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on partial least squares estimation (PLS). The social capital index consists of two dimensions: participation and trust. In each of the two dimensions, three levels are distinguished: social (micro), organizational (meso), and political (macro). The main objectives of the index are to: (1) provide a coherent overview of social capital in the Netherlands; (2) monitor social capital over time; and (3) compare subpopulations. A broad spectrum of indicators is included, however, these are only weakly correlated and consequently treated as distinct. Therefore, traditional index development methods such as factor analysis and reflective modeling cannot be applied. Consequently, formative modeling in which the indicators are specified as causes rather than as effects is used. We employ the Permanent Survey on Living Conditions 2009 (POLS), administered face-to-face to 7,560 respondents in the Netherlands. We find that the index predicts well-being and health, which demonstrates nomological validity. Subsequently, bootstrapping is conducted to test the robustness of the index. And the 2009 index is replicated based on the 2010 POLS data. The replication shows that the 2009 model is relatively stable and results are robust. Finally, the model is extended by including volunteering and informal help, which changes the model but the results remain largely the same. This index, which is shown to be valid and robust, contributes to a further understanding of the concept of social capital.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Saskia te Riele, Rianne Kloosterman, Godelief Mars, Koos Arts, Karolijne van der Houwen, Mark van der Loo, and Abby Israels from Statistics Netherlands, and Martin Wetzels from Maastricht University. The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their useful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Statistics Netherlands, CBS-weg 11, 6412 EX, Heerlen, The Netherlands

    Jacqueline van Beuningen & Hans Schmeets

  2. Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Hans Schmeets

Authors
  1. Jacqueline van Beuningen
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  2. Hans Schmeets
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Correspondence to Jacqueline van Beuningen.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 1.

Table 1 Study measures
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Appendix 2

See Table 2.

Table 2 Descriptives and correlation matrix 2009
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Appendix 3

See Table 3.

Table 3 Average group scores on index
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Appendix 4

See Table 4.

Table 4 Average group scores 2009 on six dimensions
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Appendix 5

See Table 5.

Table 5 Indicator weights
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Appendix 6

See Table 6.

Table 6 Bootstrap analysis results (index 2009, initial latent variable scores have been used as input values for the bootstrap analysis)
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Appendix 7

See Table 7.

Table 7 Interval variables replaced by dummies to check linearity of effects
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Appendix 8

See Table 8.

Table 8 Model calculated separately for men and women
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van Beuningen, J., Schmeets, H. Developing a Social Capital Index for the Netherlands. Soc Indic Res 113, 859–886 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0129-2

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