Housing and Social Capital in Russia

• In Event: 411 - Section on Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Housing, Poverty, and Inequality.

Abstract

This paper examines the link between housing and social capital in contemporary Russia. Prior scholarship repeatedly finds an association between homeownership and social capital. Yet, several theoretical gaps remain. First, the causal effect is controversial and mechanisms are unclear. Second, prior scholarship treats homeownership as a household-level attribute, assumed to accrue equally to all household members. Finally, most studies focus on Anglo-American and Western European contexts. This paper tests for this association and possible mechanisms in a post-socialist context, using new data, the Survey of Comparative Housing Experiences and Societal Stability (CHESS), collected in 2015. In this paper, we focus on a subset of social capital known as perceived social support, tangible and informational resources derived from individuals’ interpersonal networks. As a result, we found support for the connection between homeownership and social support. Yet, when other aspects of housing that are associated with but not limited to homeownership —residential stability and psychological factors—are included, the direct homeownership effect disappears, suggesting that the effect of homeownership is only indirect. Other aspects of housing including residential stability, autonomy, and satisfaction are also associated with social support.

Authors

• Hyungjun Suh, Univeristy of Arizona

• Theodore P. Gerber, University of Wisconsin-Madison