Social Capital, Racial Diversity, and Equity

• Author: Rene R. Rocha,Daniel P. Hawes
• Date: 01 December 2011
• Published date: 01 December 2011
• DOI: 10.1177/1065912910379231

Political Research Quarterly

64(4) 924 –937

© 2011 University of Utah

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DOI: 10.1177/1065912910379231

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Social Capital, Racial Diversity,

and Equity: Evaluating the

Determinants of Equity

in the United States

Daniel P. Hawes1 and Rene R. Rocha2

Abstract

Robert Putnam’s work suggests social capital is compatible with social equality, while Rodney Hero argues the two are

inversely related. Hero and Putnam, however, are limited in their arguments because they have only cross-sectional

data and their theoretical arguments imply dynamic relationships over time. We create a state-level social capital index

and a measure of racial diversity that varies over time and across states. We use multivariate models to determine

whether social capital or racial diversity better predicts levels of policy equity. We find that social capital detrimentally

affects policy equity and racial diversity is positively associated with policy equity.

Keywords

social capital, diversity, policy equity, political culture, race and ethnicity

One of the more innovative and controversial concepts

introduced to the study of politics and policy is the notion

of social capital. Putnam’s (2000) work documents a

decline in social capital and relates social capital to a wide

range of public policies at the level of the American states.

Hero (2003a; 2003b, 2007) stresses racial diversity and

challenges the benefits of social capital by focusing on

questions of equity; he argues that social capital might

provide overall benefits to citizens living in a high-soci al-

capital community but that these benefits will be maldis-

tributed in racially diverse political systems. Although both

arguments rely heavily on dynamic elements—that is,

social capital and racial diversity change over time—both

were restricted to empirical analyses on a cross-section of

U.S. states, thus making it difficult to separate the con-

cepts and limiting the types of possible analysis.

This article seeks to address the issues in the Putnam–

Hero debate by building dynamic measures of both social

capital and racial diversity. First, the literature on social

capital and racial diversity will be reviewed. Second,

using a wide range of data sets including original market-

ing surveys, we will construct and validate measures

of social capital and racial diversity. Third, each will be

used along with a variety of other factors known to influ-

ence policy to study racial equity in education, criminal

justice, and health care, focusing on both African Americans

and Latinos.

The Social Capital Thesis

In its simplest form, social capital can be said to refer

to “connections among individuals” or, in other words,

“social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trust-

worthiness that arise from them” (Putnam 2000, 19). One

of Putnam’s (2000) central arguments is that at the indi-

vidual level, engagement within the community is associ-

ated with more tolerant attitudes, while social isolation

tends to be joined with intolerance. Putnam’s (2000, 469,

n. 9) own review of the literature concludes that while

not all studies have found a positive relationship between

civic engagement and tolerance, not one has established

a negative relationship. Verba, Schlozman, and Brady’s

(1995) influential study, for example, demonstrates that

civic engagement (e.g., attendance at community meetings)

is linked with increased political tolerance, although non-

social forms of political participation (e.g., contacting a

government official) are not. One exception to this trend is

participation in religious organizations, which may be

1Kent State University, Ohio, USA

2The University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA

Corresponding Author:

Daniel P. Hawes, Department of Political Science, Kent State

University, 302 Bowman Hall, Kent, OH 44262, USA

Email: dhawes2@kent.edu