Contribution of the Role of Social Capital in the Development of Rural Communities (original) (raw)

The role and importance of social capital in rural development

E3S Web of Conferences, 2021

A fundamentally new characteristic of the policy in relation to the development of rural areas is the achievement of a high standard of living of the rural population due to non-material factors of development, namely, the quality of the social environment and the state of the environment. In the new model of rural development, the main element is social capital and the level of development of rural social networks based on Internet technologies. Digitalization contributes to the active involvement of the rural population of Russia in network social interaction. Social networks are more important for rural residents than for urban residents, since they neutralize the territorial disunity of villages and provide access to information. They become a structural component of social capital, a condition and factor of its formation and reproduction. However, the level of digitalization in rural areas remains insufficient and is significantly inferior to urban areas. The development and im...

Social Capital and Local Development Activities: A Rural Development Perspective

Research Nepal Journal of Development Studies

This paper examined the status of social capital and local development activities in Thapagaun village of Kirtipur Municipality. The focus has been given to explore role of social capital on local development from the perspective of rural development. More so, under the mix method study design, ethnographic methodology has been applied. In so doing, I selected 28 total households of Thapa community as respondents and also selected four participants from migrated households as participants purposively. The necessary primary data was collected and generated through household survey questionnaire, in depth interview and participant observation whereas secondary information generated from municipality profile, published journal articles and books. More specifically the study revealed with three types of social relationships (i.e. bonding, bridging and linking) that have been improving socio-economic and cultural life of the villagers in the study area. This study found that socio econom...

Social Capital in a Rural Community

2013

Social capital is a key element in the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework that has guided CARE Bangladesh’s natural resources activities since the late 1990s. But no explicit attempt has so far been made by the organisation to define what it is, to consider how it might be promoted, or to determine how it may already have been affected by the various interventions that have been made. This paper, which highlights the central findings of a more extensive piece of research, is a preliminary attempt to explore these issues. (See Boxes 1 and 2 for further details).

The Role of the Social Capital in Rural Development. Case Study Analysis of Village Research Camps in Romania and Hungary

European Countryside, 2021

Social capital represents an increasingly used term in social sciences, but its application in rural development is not widespread. In this study, we assess the social capital of villages where we have organized village research camps over the past decade. The research utilizes a specific methodology, synthesizes the research carried out in the village research camps. Methods included statistical data analysis, questionnaire survey, interviewing, and participant observation. Among the results, we found that the social capital of the studied villages and the condition of their local communities are different. These also affected the effectiveness of development activities. The study examined the role of social capital and how the development of social capital can contribute to the development of villages. In summary, our assumption is that there is a link between social capital and rural development, but this relationship is not always evident or one-way.

The importance of social capital in rural development, networking and decision-making in rural areas

Revue de géographie alpine, 2007

Due to overall economic, political and socioeconomic reasons structural change in agriculture and rural areas has accelerated during the last few decades causing positive but also some negative impacts. The term "rural marginalisation" defines a series of problematic tendencies particularly evident in remote and less-favoured European regions comprising socioeconomic and cultural decline such as unemployment, the closing down of farm enterprises, out-migration, over-aging, brain drain, rural poverty and social exclusion, loss of infrastructure and services, environmental degradation, biodiversity depletion, loss of habitats, afforestation, land abandonment, landscape degradation, loss of cultural tradition and local identities. Agricultural marginalisation has to be considered as part of the larger phenomenon of rural marginalisation. For a long time rural marginalization has been the centre of attention for regional planning and rural development initiatives but also for rural sociology and rural policy studies. These problematic, unwanted and in most cases unintended incidents are due to local and global political reasons (missing or insufficient rural development measures, globalisation, telecommunication) but also due to so-called "intrinsic aspects" which coincide with the social structure and sociological patterns of local communities. 2 Applied regional development reveals no clear correlation between the quantity of input in terms of budget, political instruments or other efforts undertaken and output in terms of success or whatever is to be considered as a positive effect. Despite huge financial means and numerous measures the result of rural development remains unsatisfactory or at least not sustainable in many regions while we can observe remarkably sound social, economic and environmental conditions in other regions without much public support from outside. However, rural marginalization can be largely explained by unfavourable conditions and missing resources, but not entirely and not in all regions. Some very sparsely populated regions with lack of policy measures, poor economic and unfavourable The importance of social capital in rural development, networking and decisio...

Enhancing sustainable rural development through social capital

Imprensa Universidade de Évora, 2023

The first decade of the 21st century marked an important period in global demographics. For the first time in human history more people were living in urban than in rural areas. Rural and urban regions are closely intertwined and shaped by an ambiguous relationship. Rural regions are important deliverers of resources such as food, construction materials or energy and are thus enablers of these urban lifestyles. Rural regions are also places of aspiration and desire for a life closer to nature or in search for “wilderness” or “authenticity” of rural lifestyles, which people from cities would like to explore and experience during their visits. This ambiguous relationship is increasingly felt in rural regions in multiple ways e.g., through emigration of young people, the loss of jobs and economic possibilities, or the exploitation of land and infrastructure for businesses, enabling the flow of resources and capital into cities. Rural regions are therefore confronted with numerous challenges. For these regions it becomes important to continuously re-define or re-invent themselves in an increasingly urbanized and economized world, by at the same time protecting their natural assets and beauty and enabling both ecologically, socially and economically sustainable lifestyles. This publication aims to provide comprehensive information on the importance of social capital to achieve long lasting sustainable development that brings prosperity to rural areas. Sustainable development in this context is understood as positive development in all three dimensions of the sustainability triangle, namely economic, social and environmental. All of them equally important to create prosper rural areas with the ability to thrive. Social capital is the glue that helps people to organize themselves in groups in order to achieve socioeconomic benefits for the whole community. However, while the significance of social capital for economic and social development has been covered extensively in literature, the specific role it plays for sustainable development of rural areas at large could and should be further explored. For this, both theoretical and practical information is provided with eight illustrative case studies from Austria, Spain, Portugal and Türkiye that serve as best practice examples. These case studies show how communities achieve positive development in all three sustainability dimensions through the strengthening of social capital. At the end of the book, we discuss the significance of social capital for the success of these case studies and present a new definition of social capital that integrates the economic, social and environmental dimension.

Social Capital and Development Trends in Rural Areas

2005

This volume contains the examined and selected papers of the 11th International Workshop on "Social Capital and Development Trends in Japan's and Sweden's Countryside. " The workshop was held in August 21-23, 2014 in Östersund, Jämtland, Sweden and its aim was to discuss common topics of non-metropolitan and rural regions and urban-rural interaction in Sweden and Japan, with the concepts of social capital and social entrepreneurship as common denominators. The volume consists of 17 contributions by authors from Sweden and Japan, successfully accepted through peer review. The book presents interesting and diverse viewpoints on the interface between the concept of social capital and the development of rural regions.

The Community Factor of the Rural Development

Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca: Horticulture, 2021

In the study local society and the development possibility of Tomești (Csíkszenttamás) were analysed. The village has been studied primarily in terms of development. One of the most important research questions was (and remains) how local society is fit to engage in rural or local development and what social problems hinder the development. The village camp research included questionnaire surveys, interviews and analysis of photographs, local and official statistical data. With help of the development stories, we try to draw general conclusions about the functioning of endogenous resources and social capital, too. It was demonstrated, that the strong community participation and social capital could compensate the inherited disadvantage and contribute to development. The local conflicts, tensions, party interests could undermine the best development possibilities. We concluded that without a strong local society, the local development initiatives could fail.

Relationships Between Social Capital and Socio-Economic Development Based on Rural Communes

2016

The aim of this article is to assess the impact of social capital on socio-economic development of rural communities in the Warmia and Mazury Province. In the course of the study two synthetic indicators were calculated with the use of the TOPSIS method. One characterised social capital, the other the level of socio-economic development. The data used to determine the indicators (characterizing social capital and socio-economic development) were obtained from the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Offi ce and the National Electoral Commission for 67 rural communities from the Warmińsko-mazurskie voivodeship. Subsequently, linear ordering of the examined units was conducted and typological classes (I–IV) were determined, characterising the level of both analysed indicators. It was established that rural communities in the Warmińsko-mazurskie voivodeship do not show a large variation in terms of socio-economic development and social capital. Then, the relation between social c...