Application of exploratory factor analysis to address the challenge of measuring social capital in a rural communal setting in South Africa

Abstract

Social capital (SC) is an umbrella concept combining attributes of multiple latent factors that are not directly observable, making it difficult to measure and express as a single variable. Despite its multidimensional nature, the bulk of empirical studies continue to construct and use unidimensional indicators of SC, generating notable disparities in results derived from the use of these alternative measures. This study employed exploratory factor analysis to search for and construct composite measures capturing the multidimensional facets of structural and cognitive social capital (SC) in a rural communal setting in Africa. Our factor analysis revealed eleven factors describing a diversity of SC components, with clear evidence of multiple features of cognitive SC at the household level. On the other hand, evidence of presence of structural SC was limited, which is a general finding of household level analysis of determinants of SC. Not adequately accounting for elements of informal social networks, is an important weakness of our study, and we accordingly strongly recommend that SC research in developing countries should include, as indicators of structural SC, measures of informal social networks.