Social capital at work: how family, friends and civic ties relate to labour market outcomes
Wendy Stone, Matthew Gray and Jody Hughes
Australian Institute of Family Studies
Contact Email:   wendysaifs.gov.au

In Australia as in many other nations there is an emphasis upon paid work as a primary means for achieving economic independence and avoiding welfare dependency. Much of this attention focuses upon an individual’s skills and attributes or upon characteristics of the labour market. This paper extends these analyses, by investigating the extent to which an individual’s ‘stock’ of social capital relates to labour market outcomes.

Using data from a national random survey of 1,500 Australians (the Families, Social Capital & Citizenship (FSAC) 2001 survey), this paper explores the links between an individual's social capital (defined in terms of quality informal, civic and institutional ties) and their labour market outcomes. The relationship between social capital and labour force status is estimated. The relationship between social capital and the job search method used to find employment is also explored.

The main contribution of this paper is to provide estimates of the impact of both the structure of social networks and the quality of social relationships on labour force status and job search method. In contrast with many social capital studies the FSAC data enable analysis of various dimensions of social capital including trust, reciprocity, network size, density and diversity.

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