EDUCATION, SOCIAL CAPITAL AND CULTURAL GOODS

In educational literature studies on social capital and educational outcomes are well explored and debated. Several empirical assessments claim that social capital is positively linked to educational outcomes. In the same way in cultural economics literature there is a widely acknowledgement on positive relationships between educational levels and cultural consumptions. This paper presents the first empirical assessment of the causal relationship between education, social capital and cultural goods. A multidimensional analysis based on synthetic indicators of cultural participation, education and social capital highlights a positive relation between the propensity to take part in cultural activities and bridging elements of social capital, such as informal relations with friends and neighbors, participation to civil society organizations and interest for politics. While further research is needed to understand the causal connection, the empirical results indicate that policies aiming to influence one of these dimensions may be more effective when considering them jointly.