Willingness to start up a business and the social capital in a regional context

The paper is focused on the connection between the willingness to do business and individual capital in the context of the Usti Region as an example of a disadvantaged region. Social capital is divided into bonding capital, related with family and friendship relations, and mobilizing capital, related to the instrumental solution of situations with the help of social relations. The paper has used a secondary analysis of data gained thanks to a questionnaire survey, which was representative of inhabitants of the Usti Region. The results showed that the willingness to do business was connected with mobilizing social capital, while bonding social capital did not play any role. The analysis, however, also includes other variables as the role of the social capital differs, for instance, regionally: people with a higher education are more willing to do business, and the same also applies to people declaring a willingness to leave the region. The complex of variables related to the low level of willingness to do business cannot be reduced to mobilizing social capital. However, it is also necessary to reflect its significant role.