Social Resources and Occupational Status Attainment: Comparison of Japanese and American Employees’ Personal Networks

Abstract: The present study compares Japan and the USA in the ways in which individuals’ personal relationships affect the social standing they achieve. The conceptual framework applied here is similar to that used in established research in Western countries, which examines the effects of both human capital and social capital. The analyses are based on the data collected from a random sample of adult residents in Tokyo, which contains information about their personal networks. This data set is compared with the social network module of the 1985 General Social Survey in the United States. The analyses supported both human capital and social capital theories in the process of status attainment in both countries. Human capital, however, seems to have a stronger influence especially in the USA sample, because certain structural characteristics are associated with one's own educational achievement, which in turn are instrumental in attaining social capital. Unlike the USA, however, the access to social capital in Japan was found primarily through homophily, showing little effect based upon the type of networks they have. The results suggest the difference between the two countries in terms of the function of social resources and the strength of ties that are instrumental in the process of status attainment.