On Measurement & Sub-National Inequality of Social Capital in India: An Analysis Based on IHDS-II Survey Data

The objectives of the present article are twofold. First it attempts to measure social capital at household level and second it investigates the status of social capital inequality at sub-regional level of India. To measure the social capital, it develops a composite index at household level using the IHDS-II survey data. The Theil Index is used to measure inequality of social capital. The findings suggest a high levels of social capital across households in Indian states and UTs. The linking social capital is found to be the highest among the three dimensions of social capital (i.e., bridging, bonding and linking). The findings from inequality analysis suggest that household-level social capital inequality in India remains low on average. Large gaps still exist inside the local areas of specific states even when the national average looks small.