Sociology

This article is an empirical analysis of the relationship between social capital and satisfaction and quality of life in the workplace in Spain. Social capital has been defined as the set of cooperative relationships between social actors that facilitate collective action. This concept has been measured based on five dimensions: trust, social relations, commitment, communication and influence. An analysis has been carried out applying regression and causal models to determine the influence on satisfaction and quality of life at work of social capital dimensions and of characteristics of the worker, work environment and company or organization. The data is based on Spain's 2001 Quality of Life at Work Survey. The results of the analysis indicate that the models applied are significant, which confirms the examined propositions. Higher levels of social capital imply greater levels of satisfaction and quality of life at work. Social capital is a better predictor of quality of life at work and job satisfaction than the characteristics of the worker, the company or organization, and the work environment.

ABSTRACT This paper empirically examines the causal relationships that occur between the values and attitudes that children learn during the process of socialization and the developmental process, which has taken place in Spain and the United States. When leamed at an early ...

This paper empirically examines three propositions which are derived from network theory, particularly the relationship between friends' network and happiness level as a subjective well-being indicator. Using friendship network data obtained from 1985 NORC General Social Survey for the U.S., and from 1993 CIRES Social Survey for Spain, a cross-national comparison between Spain and the U.S. was performed. Results are compared with previous major Davis' and Burt's works for the U.S. It was found that there was a significant, strong association between happiness and friends' network size for both countries, and that there was not a great happiness difference between them. However, close friendship has a contrary effect on happiness when data from both countries are compared. Concerning socioeconomic status, happiness increased with income, although this effect was higher in Spain than in the U.S.

In this article welfare systems and support networks are empirically analyzed to determine which generate the highest level of subjective well-being among retired persons. Propositions derived from support network theories and national welfare system typologies have been analyzed using causal models that indicate the influence of the various welfare systems and support networks on subjective well-being. The data was taken from the Social Relations and Social Support Systems module of the 2001 International Social Survey Program. The results indicate that liberal welfare systems generate the highest level of subjective well-being. This correlates with a lower degree of confidence in the welfare state, greater interpersonal trust and greater belief in individuals and their capacity to secure their own well-being. In the sphere of material well-being the subjective well-being of individuals is affected by a greater trust in people than in the state.

Page 1. Resumen En este trabajo se estudian los procesos de movilidad social en función del desarrollo que tienen las sociedades. Para ello se han escogido dos momentos en el tiempo (1999 y 2004) y dos lugares en el espacio (Andalucía y Cataluña). ...

Meltzer and Richard (1981) state that democracy will boost redistribution of income from the rich to the poor. Given that the median voter is poorer than the average-income voter, a majority of voters will vote for redistribution. However, the positive relationship between democracy and equalization of income has been highly criticized on both theoretical and empirical grounds. From a rational point of view, why do not the poor vote for a higher level of redistribution? Some scholars have argued that expectations of social mobility may induce the poor to believe they will have a higher income in the future and thus to vote against redistribution. However, the sociological literature has shown that people are not well aware of their relative position on the income ladder, because they evaluate their relative income through comparison to others. In this paper, I analyze to what extent preferences for redistribution at the individual level depend on expectations of future income and meritocracy. Departing from previous studies, I analyze whether expectations of social mobility are related to true probability of mobility or whether they are based on subjective expectations of mobility, which depend on perceived position on the income ladder. Empirical results show that preferences for redistribution depend on both expectations of social mobility and meritocracy, although subjective expectations of social mobility have a stronger impact on preferences for redistribution than objective expectations.