Social capital- social cohesion

Social capital yeilds big dividends - Life & Style | Trends, Tips, News & Advice | The Irish Times - Sat, Jul 20, 2013: "That such pride is justified was confirmed once more in a survey by Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation, which rated Ireland 11th out of 35 countries for social cohesion, described as “the level of solidarity exhibited by people living and working in a geographical community”. Only those peskily perfect Scandinavian countries and the likes of the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand came ahead of us, which means we’re keeping pretty good company.
Survey after survey determining levels of national happiness and quality of life have pinpointed the abundance of social capital here as a key ingredient in what makes Ireland such a relatively content country. All those GAA cumainn and golf clubs, choral societies and amateur dramatic groups, history societies and reading groups, Mass-goers and volunteers, and yes, all those conversation-filled pubs – they all contribute to a sense of belonging to a place and having strong bonds with the people who live there."

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