Building Bridges or Forging Bonds? Exploring the Role of Social Capital in the Reception of Ukrainian Refugees in Italy

Abstract

In the immediate aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, over 6 million Ukrainians fled their country to various European countries, including Italy. Various entities in the country, ranging from third-sector organizations to private citizens, expressed their interest in hosting these refugees, with significant subnational heterogeneity. What influenced this varying willingness to be hosts? We aim to provide some preliminary answers to this question by investigating the role of social capital in this heterogeneous response, using a quantitative framework. Our results, obtained through a set of regressions using Fractional Probit estimators, suggest that bonding social capital is associated with greater willingness to host, whereas the opposite is true for bridging social capital. The implications of these findings are discussed.