Dimensions of Social Capital: Principal Component Analysis of the WVS World Values Survey WORKING PAPER SERIES
Dimensiones del Capital Social: Análisis de Componentes Principales Sobre la Encuesta Mundial de Valores WVS SERIE DOCUMENTOS DE TRABAJO
Résumé
Objective: To measure the dimensions of social capital identified in the
literature. The database used for our measurement is the World Values
Survey (WVS), wave 7 (2017-2022). Context: There is existing research,
but it is deemed insufficient, as acknowledged by the authors themselves.
Methodology: Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Results: A range of
factors constituting social capital is identified, and they are measured on
individuals using factor scores. Conclusions: Each social capital factor is
associated with a set of variables that can be found in other databases,
allowing for the replication of these factors in future research. The
explanatory power of each factor is expressed as a percentage of total
explained variance. Well-being is introduced as an additional dimension,
thereby opening the possibility of exploring its relationship with other
dimensions of social capital in future research.