Social Capital in Rural America

By many measures, social capital has steadily declined across America since the 1960s. Americans today are less likely to socialize with their neighbors, join community organizations, vote in local elections, attend religious services, or volunteer their time. This project studies the causes and consequences of individual-level social connections in rural towns, using new microdata containing millions of visits between neighbors' houses. The student researcher will work closely with me on both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the project. The qualitative work will include reading and summarizing existing research together. The quantitative work will involve constructing aggregate measures of social capital using visits between neighbors and evaluating how such measures vary across geographies, correlate with existing measures, and relate to key economic and social outcomes. The student may also be asked to help on other ongoing projects, including projects on affordable housing policy and congestion pricing.