Social Capital: An International Research Program

For two decades, a significant number of scholars have subscribed to a common definition of social capital (resources embedded in social networks), employed a standard measurement (the position generator methodology), and conducted original research. Their sustained efforts have demonstrated the power of the concept of social capital in diverse arenas of research and varied cultural and societal settings. Their work has contributed to the substantiation, development, and expansion of social capital as a key scientific concept and theory. This book presents an introduction to some of the most recent work in the area. The volume editors have brought together scholars in North America, Europe, and East Asia to offer original and accessible reports of their own research studies. Covering both methodological and substantive issues, they demonstrate the continued importance of social capital as a guiding concept and theory in social sciences today.

Nan Lin is Oscar L. Tang Family Professor of Sociology at Duke University. He has conducted research on social capital, social networks, stratification and mobility, and stress coping in the United States, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. He has written or edited seven books and published numerous book chapters and journal articles. He is also an Academician at Academia Sinica in Taiwan and holds honorary professorship in many universities in China.

Bonnie Erickson is Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto. She is also cross-appointed to the Centre for Studies on Aging, the Centre for Urban and Community Studies, the Centre for Industrial Relations, and is on the Board of Directors of the Centre for Health Promotion. Erickson has written articles on a wide variety of topics published in Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, American Sociological Review, Social Networks, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and others.