Civic engagement and social cohesion : measuring dimensions of social capital to inform policy
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Civic engagement and social cohesion : measuring dimensions of social capital to inform policy
National Academies Press, c2014
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Bibliography: p. 125-135
Description and Table of Contents
Description
People's bonds, associations and networks - as well as the civil, political, and institutional characteristics of the society in which they live - can be powerful drivers affecting the quality of life among a community's, a city's, or a nation's inhabitants and their ability to achieve both individual and societal goals. Civic engagement, social cohesion, and other dimensions of social capital affect social, economic and health outcomes for individuals and communities. Can these be measured, and can federal surveys contribute toward this end? Can this information be collected elsewhere, and if so, how should it be collected? Civic Engagement and Social Cohesion identifies measurement approaches that can lead to improved understanding of civic engagement, social cohesion, and social capital - and their potential role in explaining the functioning of society. With the needs of data users in mind, this report examines conceptual frameworks developed in the literature to determine promising measures and measurement methods for informing public policy discourse.
The report identifies working definitions of key terms; advises on the feasibility and specifications of indicators relevant to analyses of social, economic, and health domains; and assesses the strength of the evidence regarding the relationship between these indicators and observed trends in crime, employment, and resilience to shocks such as natural disasters. Civic Engagement and Social Cohesion weighs the relative merits of surveys, administrative records, and non-government data sources, and considers the appropriate role of the federal statistical system. This report makes recommendations to improve the measurement of civic health through population surveys conducted by the government and identifies priority areas for research, development, and implementation.
Table of Contents
- 1 Front Matter
- 2 Summary
- 3 1 Introduction
- 4 2 What Should Be Measured?
- 5 3 Prioritizing Measures and Framing a Data Collection Strategy
- 6 4 Competing and Complementing Data Strategies: The Role of the Federal Statistical System
- 7 5 Alternative Measurement Approaches: Strategies for a Rapidly Changing Data World
- 8 References
- 9 Appendix A: Alternative Taxonomies of Social Capital
- 10 Appendix B: Schedule of CPS Supplements
- 11 Appendix C: Standard Error Estimates for the September 2011 CPS Volunteer Supplement
- 12 Appendix D: Social Capital, Civic Engagement, and Social Cohesion Content of U.S. Surveys
- 13 Appendix E: November 2011 Civic Engagement Supplement to the Current Population Survey
- 14 Appendix F: Biographical Sketches of Panel Members
- 15 Committee on National Statistics
by "Nielsen BookData"