Factors contributing to the formation of the youth's social capital

The current economic situation in Russia is difficult to be called favorable. The years-long decline in real incomes is forcing the population to find intangible resources to maintain the usual standard of living. One such resource is social capital. Due to the fact that social capital is created throughout life, we are interested in the earliest stage of its independent formation - youth (the age of 18-30). The relevance of the study of social capital formation features in the considered category of persons is due to the fact that from this moment the person is becoming fully responsible for his or her own actions. Consequently, the actions aimed at accumulation of social capital are the result of his or her own activity. The extent to which young people realize their potential in the sphere of social capital formation directly influences on how much of it they will have entering mature life, and what dividends will be brought by these investments. In this regard, it was decided to identify the distinctive factors contributing to the formation of the youth’s social capital and the effects of its accumulation. The study found that the accumulation of social capital at a young age is more effective due to the young people’s greater willingness to work together and more active use of modern means of communication. Investments in social capital, even in youth, quickly begin to pay dividends. As a consequence, it is concluded that the active use of the potential for social capital accumulation in youth is characterized by increased productivity due to the fact that people are more predisposed to unite in the considered period of life.