The Olson - Putnam Controversy: Some Empirical Evidence

This paper explores the causal link between associationism and general trust. First we study the principal components that constitute social capital. Then we contrast a structural model identifying the relations between the relevant variables in the so-called Olson-Putnam aporia. The results of the empirical test on the determinants of social capital allow us to conclude that the extension of horizontal networks maintains a direct relation with this form of capital, but not those of vertical type.