Social Capital Penalty of being Black: The Structure of Racial Network Segregation

• In Event: 130 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 09. Racial and Ethnic Segregation

Abstract

The present study investigates the social capital of Black Americans using the 1985 GSS network questionnaire. Three components of social capital are the focus of the study: size of the network, racial mixing with White Americans, and the educational attainment of the discussants. My results indicate that the black minority suffers from a lack of social capital in all measured dimensions, and educational attainment does not substantially alleviate this detriment. Racial segregation in network terms is a very stable phenomenon that is independent of educational differences between the two racial groups that would partly explain the low level of out-group ties. Blacks have smaller networks, even when socio-economic status is controlled, and their network size does not grow with education as fast as it does for Whites. Even as education level increases, the discussant networks of blacks do not become less segregated or more educated, on average. The picture that evolves from these results is that no matter their educational level or place of living, blacks suffer from network segregation.

Author

• Attila Varga, University of Arizona