The effect of early career social capital on long-term income development in Finland
Oinas, T., Ruuskanen, P., Hakala, M., & Anttila, T. (2020). The effect of early career social capital on long-term income development in Finland. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 40(11/12), 1373-1390. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-02-2020-0032
Published in
International Journal of Sociology and Social PolicyDate
2020Copyright
© 2020 the Author(s)
Purpose – In this study, the authors examine whether social capital embedded in individuals’ social networks
is connected to employees’ long-term income development in Finland.
Design/methodology/approach – Analyses are based on 25–35-year-old employees from the Finnish Living
Conditions Survey of 1994 combined with register data on earned incomes from 1995 to 2016. The authors used questions addressing the frequency of meeting parents or siblings, spending free time with co-workers and
participation in associational, civic or other societal activities as measures of the extent of network capital.
Ordered logistic model was used to examine whether the size and composition of social networks differ by
gender and socio-economic status. Linear growth curve models were employed to estimate the effect of social
capital on long-term income development.
Findings – Results indicate minor differences in network composition according to gender, but large
differences between socio-economic groups. The authors found that income development was faster for those
who participated in civic activities occasionally or who met their relatives or co-workers on a monthly basis,
that is, for the “middle group”.
Research limitations/implications – Results are generalizable only to Finnish or Nordic welfare state
context. The authors’ measures of social capital come from cross-sectional survey. Thus, the authors are not
able to address the stability or accumulation of social capital during life course. This restriction will probably
cause the authors’ analysis to underestimate the true effect of social capital on earned incomes.
Practical implications – Moderate-level investments to network capital seem to be the most beneficial with
regard to the long-term income development.
Social implications – The study results give support to the idea that social capital can be transformed into
economic capital. The results also imply that in economic terms it is important to balance diverse forms of social
capital. At the policy level, a special emphasis should be directed to employees with low-socio-economic
position. These people are especially vulnerable as their low level of income is combined with network
composition that hinders their further income development.
Originality/value – The combined survey and register data give unique insight on how the social capital
embedded in individuals’ social networks is connected with long-term income development.
...
Publisher
EmeraldISSN Search the Publication Forum
0144-333XKeywords
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https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/35973328
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Additional information about funding
This study was supported by the Kone Foundation.License
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