Redes de relaciones sociales en el Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires: Lazos familiares y de amistad

Abstract

In the last decades there has been a growing interest in the role of social ties and the resources they provide. Recent studies have shown that social capital, usually measured with the position generator, is a factor that has significative effects in occupational attainment. These studies on social stratification and mobility can be complemented with techniques of social network analysis (SNA), these enable us to observe the underlying structure of relationships between people in different positions of the structure of social stratification. This paper proposes to perform a social network analysis, aggregated at the occupational level, of the family and friendship ties of residents of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires. This will be done using social network analysis software (Gephi) with survey data that includes the occupations of the respondent 's family members and closest friend. This analysis allowed us to map networks of family and friendship ties, aggregated at the occupational level, showing patterns of relationships and allowing us to find the central nodes in the structure of relationships, bridges that allow contact between different positions and frontiers that limit interaction between social classes. The analysis showed that friendship and household ties are structured by social position, with marked barriers between the middle class and the working class and fluid ties between strata within each class.