This paper reviews the contribution that the concept of social capital might make to geography, and the contribution geography might make to the analysis of social capital. We begin by summarizing the conceptual origins and dimensions of social capital, in the process of which we distinguish it from several other social properties (human and cultural capital; social networks). We then summarize key criticisms of the concept, especially those levelled at the work of Robert Putnam. The core of the paper is a discussion of the issue of whether there might be a geography of social capital. We consider links between geographical debates and the concept of social capital, and we assess the difficulties of deriving spatially disaggregated measures of social capital. We illustrate this discussion with reference to literature on three sets of issues: the question of ‘institutional tissue’ and its effects on regional development; the understanding of health inequalities; and the analysis of comparative government performance. In conclusion, we argue that the popularity of the concept reflects a combination of academic and political developments, notably the search for ostensibly ‘costless’ policies of redistribution on the part of centrist governments. We therefore conclude with a discussion of the practical applications of the concept in different contexts.

Objectives The association of volunteering with well-being has been found in previous research, but mostly among older people. The aim of this study was to examine the association of volunteering with mental well-being among the British population across the life course. Design British Household Panel Survey, a population-based longitudinal study. Setting UK. Participants 66 343 observations (person-years). Main outcome measures Mental well-being was measured by using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12 or GHQ); high values denote high mental disorder. Four groups of volunteering participation were created: frequent (once a week), infrequent (once a month/several times a year), rare (once or less a year) and never. Multilevel linear models were used to analyse variations in mental well-being over the life course by levels of volunteering. Results When not considering age, those who engaged in volunteering regularly appeared to experience higher levels of mental well-being than those who never volunteered. To explore the association of volunteering with the GHQ across the life course, interaction terms were fitted between age and volunteering. The interactions were significant, demonstrating that these associations vary by age. The association between volunteering and well-being did not emerge during early adulthood to mid-adulthood, instead becoming apparent above the age of 40 years and continuing up to old age. Moreover, in early adulthood, the absence of engagement in voluntary activity was not related to mental well-being, but GHQ scores for this group increased sharply with age, levelling off after the age of 40 and then increasing again above the age of 70 years. The study also indicates variation in GHQ scores (65%) within individuals across time, suggesting evidence of lifecourse effects. Conclusions We conclude that volunteering may be more meaningful for mental well-being at some points of time in the life course.

This paper explores associations between local socioeconomic context and perceptions of neighbourhood quality of life, using a multilevel modelling approach to analyse data from the 2002/03 Survey of English Housing. A range of individual, property and area variables is successively introduced, the aim being to determine which of these has the greatest influence on the probability of being dissatisfied with one's neighbourhood. Several variables relating to property type and characteristics were derived and a set of ecological independent variables was used that is different from those deployed in previous analyses. Using a multilevel approach, the analysis determines the spatial scale at which variance is most concentrated—namely, the primary sampling unit (PSU). The relationship between tenure and property type is broken down and it is shown that social renting per se is not necessarily associated with greater dissatisfaction, although there is an association between private renting and greater satisfaction, probably reflecting the age and social profile of private renters. In respect of ecological indicators, increased levels of deprivation were associated with a raised probability of expressing neighbourhood satisfaction, as was settlement size, which is consistent with earlier work on quality of life. Conclusions are drawn concerning the use of studies of this kind to monitor trends in neighbourhood satisfaction.

Recent debates have suggested that increasing social diversity within Western economies is associated with adverse social consequences such as loss of community and decline of civic society, including an erosion of collective efficacy (ie shared expectations of and mutual engagement by residents in social control). In the UK and US, these debates have been given impetus by concerns about the effects of growing ethnic heterogeneity on community life. Here there is an assumption that heterogeneity undermines social cohesion and makes the established population less willing to share resources, trust fellow citizens, so that it eventually ‘hunkers down’ and withdraws from collective life. To date there are few studies that have examined this in detail across England at the small-area level. The research presented here explores this terrain by exploiting information from the British Crime Survey on two recognised dimensions of collective efficacy: namely, social cohesion and trust, and informal social control. Multivariate, multilevel models were used to determine the importance of individual and area characteristics in the possible explanation of these outcomes, and particular attention was paid to the relative importance of neighbourhood disadvantage over and above neighbourhood diversity. Results suggest that both diversity and disadvantage are statistically associated with reduced levels of social cohesion and trust, and informal social control, but greater substantive importance is attached to neighbourhood disadvantage.