Values as Determinants of Social Capital: Regional Perspective

Social capital has been been theorized to have a number of positive social, economic and political outcomes. However, to reap these benefits it is critical to understand its formation mechanisms. The current research aims to contribute to this topic with the focus on value orientations, regional factors and their interaction in Russia. Using representative national survey data, the author finds that higher emancipative values preferences among Russians, on average but not uniformly, are positively associated with the odds of taking part in both formal and informal social capital activities. At the same time, no support is found for the elevating or amplifying effects of emancipative values. Neither regional resources seem to significantly influence the effect of individual emancipative values preference on their action. Among regional predictors, only civil society development is found to be conducive to formal engagement. Overall, it can be concluded that the social capital practices of Russians from one region differ only slightly from those from another region, which paints a picture of a rather homogeneous in this respect country. The possible reasons are discussed and the ideas for future studies are suggested.