Time Banking and Social Capital Creation: a Transaction Data Analysis

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Published: 25-04-2024

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María Ángeles Carnero
Departamento de Fundamentos del Análisis Económico. Universidad de Alicante
Spain
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3683-0447
Blanca Martínez
Departamento de Análisis Económico y Economía Cuantitativa, ICAE Research Group. Universidad Complutense de Madrid., Spain
Spain
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4247-5437
Rocío Sánchez-Mangas
Departamento de Análisis Económico: Economía Cuantitativa. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Spain
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1379-851X
Vol 33 No 1 (2024), Articles, pages 1-20
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15304/rge.33.1.9263
Submitted: 26-06-2023 Accepted: 31-01-2024 Published: 25-04-2024
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Abstract

This article uses transaction data from three time banks located in Barcelona to analyze their potential to generate bonding and bridging social capital for their members. Regarding bonding social capital, the findings are in line with the related literature in terms of the average number of trading partners and the ego-network density. However, reciprocity is a more frequent form of behavior in our data than in other time banks from other countries. Concerning bridging social capital and considering different age groups, the results show slight evidence of homophilic behavior, although intergenerational transactions are also present, being more frequent between more similar age groups. Finally, we explore the influence of age on the time it takes for members to engage in transactions, which could somehow be related to their potential motivations behind joining a time bank.

Keywords:

Bonding social capital, Bonding social capital, Bridging social capital, Bridging social capital, Community currency, Community currency, Time banks, Time banks, Informal economy, Informal economy,
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References

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