Volunteerism and Social Capital in Metropolitan Perth: A Preliminary Assessment

Numerous definitions of social capital exist. The Oxford (English) Dictionary defines social capital as ‘the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively’. In his seminal book, Bowling Alone, the US academic Robert Putnam (1995) used the image of the lonely bowler to encapsulate the increasing trend for individual rather than collective participation. Putnam (1995) defined social capital as the features of social organisations that improve coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit.