Individual-Level Predictors of Social Capital and Participation in Collective Action on the Island of Carriacou, Grenada

Communities, particularly those in developing regions of the world, are increasingly being called upon to accept much of the responsibility for addressing the economic and social well-being of their respective populations (Krishna 2002). The capacity of communities to act on their own behalf relies heavily upon their ability to enlist and coordinate the participation of individual citizens. This has led to a renewed interest among scholars in the factors that influence participation in collective civic action. In the process, many social scientists have turned to the concept of social capital as a viable means of enhancing collective community action efforts. This dissertation presents the findings of a case study examining the relationship between social capital and individual participation in collective action events on a Caribbean island recovering from the devastation inflicted by Hurricanes Ivan and Emily in 2004-2005.;Using data drawn from 114 residential surveys on Carriacou, Grenada, over the summer of 2006, this study empirically tests social capital as a predictor of individual participation in purely "civic" forms of collective action. These events are non-contentious efforts to address community goals based on cooperation and consensus-based approaches. In order to better understand the processes through which social capital enhances civic engagement, this study also examines factors that contribute to variability in the multiple dimensions of social capital, namely associational membership, interpersonal trust, and reciprocity (Putnam 1993, 1995, 2000).;The findings indicate that associational membership and age have the strongest total effects on participation in collective action, while the respondent's gender (male) and interpersonal trust are also significant predictors. The analyses of the multiple dimensions of social capital indicate that variability in associational membership is accounted for primarily by the respondent perceptions of the effectiveness of community organizations, their willingness to discuss community concerns with others, and ties to the community. Predictors of interpersonal trust include norms of reciprocity and confidence in central government performance. Those for norms of reciprocity include gender, confidence in central government performance, the frequency of church attendance, associational membership, and ties to the community. Educational attainment is the one predictor that is shared across all three dimensions of social capital. Interestingly, the results of this study reveal that there is not a significant relationship between associational membership and interpersonal trust in the multivariate analysis, suggesting that these two dimensions of social capital may have independent, yet complementary influences on participation in collective action.;This study sheds light on factors influencing individual participation in purely "civic" forms of collective action in a developing region of the world, while contributing to the understanding of the processes through which social capital is formed. To address another limitation in the social capital literature, this dissertation provides measures that are applicable to developing settings rather than using generalized measures constructed from studies in developed countries.