Access to Expertise as a Form of Social Capital: An Examination of Race- and Class-Based Disparities in Network Ties to Experts

Abstract

Social capital theory suggests that individuals can access resources through their relationships with others. While research in this area typically focuses on the potential benefits of having high-status network alters, the authors emphasize that relationships with experts, in particular, provide access to specialized knowledge. Expertise may be accessed through formal, contractual means. But individuals who have an expert within their network of close family and friends may benefit from more convenient and lower cost expertise. The authors explore the prevalence and nature of expert contacts within individuals' social networks using data from the 1985 and 2004 General Social Surveys. About a quarter of Americans identify an expert among their network contacts. Racial minorities and members of the lower- and working-classes have less access to experts within their personal networks, however, and minorities have become particularly disadvantaged over the past two decades in terms of both overall and informal access to expertise. The authors urge further research to examine the causes of disparities in social network ties to experts and their implications for processes of social stratification.