Do Television and Radio Destroy Social Capital?

Over the last several decades, economists and other social scientists have paid increasing attention to the phenomenon known as “social capital,” the variety of social interactions, networks, and groups that link people in society together. Beyond describing the extent of these ties, there has been a vigorous debate as to whether social capital matters for everything from governance to growth to microfinance (Denise DiPasquale and Edward L. Glaeser 1999; Steven N. Durlauf 2002; Francis Fukuyama 1995; Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, and Luigi Zingales 2004; Dean S. Karlan 2007; Stephen Knack and Philip Keefer 1997; Edward Miguel, Paul Gertler, and David I. Levine 2005; Deepa Narayan and Lant Pritchett 1999; Robert D. Putnam 1993; Joel Sobel 2002). Given the interest in social capital, concern has arisen about recent declines in various measures of social capital, particularly participation in organized social groups. Putnam, in his book Bowling Alone, highlighted this decline in the context of the United States, and suggested that the rise of television has played a major role (Putnam 2000). Empirically testing the link between television and social