DIFFICULTIES IN MEASURING BONDING SOCIAL CAPITAL AMONG POLISH FARMERS

Social capital is a popular concept and in the last decade researchers aimed to empirically verify its theoretical assumptions. It seems to be relevant to distinguish between bonding social capital and bridging social capital, as they can have different outcomes. Even though theoretical division between these two types of social capital is clear, in practice a researcher faces serious problems with operationalising the concept. Some of the difficulties result from the fact that a certain group can be of bonding or of bridging type at the same time, depending on the context. In the case of Polish farmers each village could be called a group of bonding type just a few decades ago, but recent changes in socio-economic situation and lifestyles force search for a new definition.