Title:	Sociální kapitál a demokracie v provinciích Argentiny
Authors:	Herčík, Tomáš
Citation:	Akta Fakulty filozofické Západočeské univerzity v Plzni. 2016, č. 3, s. 54-78.
Issue Date:	2016
Publisher:	Západočeská univerzita v Plzni
Document type:	článek article
URI:	http://actaff.zcu.cz/export/sites/ffacta/files/archiv/2016/Acta-FF-c-3/po-kapitolach/3.-Sociln-kapitl-a-demokracie-v-provincich-Argentiny-Tom-Herk.pdf http://hdl.handle.net/11025/26205
ISSN:	1802-0364 (print) 2336-6346 (online)
Keywords:	sociální kapitál;občanská společnost;subnárodní demokracie;Argentina
Keywords in different language:	social capital;civil society;subnational democracy;Argentina
Abstract in different language:	According to Robert D. Putnam, social capital contributes to better governmental performance and also better democracy. In short, the more social capital, the better governmental performance and/or higher level of democracy. The aim of this paper is to test this claim and the hypothesis that social capital and specific components of civil society contribute to democracy on a regional level in the provinces of Argentina. Argentine provinces provide a suitable opportunity for such testing. These provinces are very autonomous, they are to a large extent independent from the central government of Argentina, and are also very different on a democratic level. Naturally, the second aim of this paper is to test the possibility that these differences are caused by social capital. There are many ways to define social capital. In this paper, the definition is based primarily on membership in non-profit organisations, the concentration of these organisations, generalised trust, and reciprocity. At least conceptually, this basis is very similar to what Putnam calls social capital. However, it should be clear that the analysis in this paper is not as ambitious as Putnam’s. In part, this is due to the data that is accessible in terms of Argentine provinces. Although there are relatively few data on social capital in these provinces, some do exist and this paper has tried to analyse them. The method used here is multivariate regression analysis. There is one dependent variable (provincial or sub-national democracy) and three independent variables. The main independent variable is social capital and there are also two control variables – GDP per capita and provinces’ income from the Federal Government. There is no statistical significance of both models (with and without outliers). Nevertheless, the analysis provides some interesting outcomes. For example, when we carry out simple Pearson correlation coefficients with all indicators of four mentioned variables, we can see there is strong correlation between some of the indicators of density of non-profit organisations and sub-national democracy or its indicators. This brings us to the conclusion that the aforementioned hypothesis that social capital and specific components of civil society contribute to democracy on the level of Argentine provinces is, at least to some extent, correct. The second claim – that differences between provinces on the level of democracy are caused by social capital – proves (in this analysis) wrong. However, both claims deserve additional and more profound investigation.
Rights:	© Západočeská univerzita v Plzni
Appears in Collections:	Číslo 3 (2016)

Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.