Constructing and Validating New County‐Level Cultural Capital Indices for Applied Policy Analysis: Evidence From SNAP Take‐Up

ABSTRACT Cultural capital influences a wide range of social and economic outcomes, yet quantitative measures suitable for policy analysis remain limited. We develop county‐level cultural capital indices for the US based on Bourdieu's framework of objectified, embodied, and institutionalized cultural capital. Using publicly available data and partial least squares regression, we construct six composite indicators capturing local cultural resources, institutions, norms, heritage, creative activities, and infrastructure. As an empirical application, we examine their association with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) take‐up. Several components of cultural capital are significantly associated with SNAP take‐up rates, suggesting the indices capture meaningful place‐based variation relevant to policy analysis.