Rixt Bijker (p), Eveline Van Leeuwen, Paul Koster

Jacopo Sforzi

The size and characteristics of the social network of an individual are known to be related to the extent of civic engagement. However, how social networks influence the decision to participate is not clear yet. Until now, the findings on social networks and participation are mostly based on cross-sectional or in some cases longitudinal data that show which network characteristics are related to participation. In this paper we take a different perspective by focusing on the choice people make whether to participate or not. Our aim is to understand the key determinants of the decision to participate, in particular the role of a person’s social network. We use a discrete choice experiment to study this decision, where in the experiment we ask respondents to choose between several types of local activities (including the option to select none). A novelty is the inclusion of choice attributes referring to social interactions. Using a choice experiment has the major advantage that it enables to investigate causal relationships and to disentangle the importance of specific choice determinants. In addition, using a choice experiment makes it possible to study the considerations of people who currently do not participate.

Jacopo Sforzi (p), Carlo Borzaga

Rixt Bijker

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