Ethnic diversity and social cohesion in Melbourne

Robert Putnam has recently published research showing that, in the United States, higher levels of ethnic diversity are associated with lower levels of social capital. Volunteering is a key indicator of social capital. Data from the 2006 Australian census show that, in Melbourne, migrants from non-English-speaking countries (NESCs) are less likely to have volunteered in the previous 12 months than are migrants from the main English-speaking-countries or people who were born in Australia. This association holds when income, time of arrival and English proficiency are controlled for. But in areas that are very ethnically diverse levels of volunteering are not only low for the NESC-born, they are also low for the Australia-born. Copyright. Monash University and the author/s