The positional effects of education on social capital in the UK

Abstract

Social research repeatedly identifies education as a valuable driver of social capital, providing skills, experiences and values that facilitate social interaction. This theory cannot explain, however, why indicators of social capital (such as social trust) have not increased despite the massification of higher education in Europe and America, nor the concentration of low social capital among the youngest and most educated cohorts. Studies attempting to explain this paradox have suggested the sorting effects of education may be more important for understanding how it is related to social capital, with the sorting ability of qualifications diminished by growth in the numbers of graduates. Empirical applications of this theory have produced mixed results, and the literature is dominated by a US focus and methodological disputes that make determining generalisability beyond the US difficult. This research attempts to reconcile some of the methodological disputes and examines the sorting effect of education on social capital in the UK. It finds no evidence of educational sorting for behavioural indicators of social capital, but strong evidence for social trust, suggesting that the weakening capacity of a degree to assure superior social status has reduced the beneficial effect of education on social capital.