Micro-level Socialisation and the Role of the Institutional Environment in Civic engagement. (FWOODYS8)

Fuelled by a vast academic literature linking civic engagement to positive societal outcomes, policymakers - at both national and EU level (see Abram and Vike, 2008) - have shown increasing support to "civil society" (and, especially, voluntary organisations). Still, two crucial problems may impair this literature's policy implications: i) the theoretical link between association membership and societal outcomes remains 'sketchy and underdeveloped' (Anheier and Kendall, 2002; Schneider, 2009); ii) the institutional setting in which voluntary associations develop and operate is often disregarded (Tarrow, 1996; Skocpol, 1996). The present project is first to simultaneously engage with both criticisms. It a) tackles the theoretical 'sketchiness' by developing and testing micro-level explanations for the engagementtrust relation and b) addresses two specific effects of variations in countries' distributional institutions (epitomised in their welfare state systems; cf. Esping-Andersen, 1990, 1999). Specifically, we evaluate how such distributional institutions affect i) which types of civic engagement - e.g., bridging vs. bonding - thrive; and ii) the integration process within (different types of) voluntary organisations. The project's explicit comparative approach aims to provide more adequate policy conclusions about the development or retraction of civic engagement; whether in general, or limited to certain types of networks or institutional environments.

Keywords:Micro-Economy

Disciplines:Microeconomics