Social capital, the third sector, and local development: which link is missing? (original) (raw)
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Social Capital and Local Development
European Journal of Social Theory, 2001
The concept of social capital has become more important in understanding contemporary economic development in the era of globalization. This concept, however, requires a theoretical framework that could help to distinguish between forms of social capital with positive effects on local development and other forms that may have negative consequences. This article argues that in order to understand this difference, two conditions are crucial. First, social capital has to be considered in terms of social relations and social networks, rather than in terms of culture and civicness. The second condition is that the interaction between social capital and other institutions, especially political institutions, has to be carefully analysed. Therefore, this article points to the crucial role of political factors - of the `embedded autonomy' of political action - in favouring a positive role of social capital in local economic development.
Local development using social capital as an instrument: a comparative analysis
Sustainable Development and Planning IV, 2009
This study aims to present the process for the development of a social capital measurement tool, which was adapted to the Greek socio-cultural context. The validity and the reliability of this social capital questionnaire were evaluated in a sample of 318 adults drawn from two different mountain rural areas in Greece. The social capital questionnaire is a useful instrument in measuring the existent stock of social capital and in understanding the local development "physiognomy" of two Greek mountainous rural areas. However, we should keep in mind that the reliability of responses to questionnaires is always questionable, in particular for subjective questions about social norms. This is why detailed interviews constitute a precious tool to corroborate the results of a survey. For this reason, the present survey was subsequently followed up by 46 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with selected participants in both areas. The overall socioeconomic status of the two case study areas was assessed in relation to a wide variety of social capital related variables. Using the data collected from the quantitative research, the paper describes how social capital is distributed geographically between the two different mountain areas. On the whole, both case study areas appear not to be substantially different in aggregate levels of social capital. Therefore, social capital seems to be different in its characteristics and underlying structure in both case study areas.
Relationships between Social Capital and regional development in Europe: a close examination
2011
The study of the Social Capital and its relationships with the development is a topical subject. The theme has not an exactly definition yet. Some proofs at national and regional levels in Europe show interactions between the Social Capital and the economic growth and the labour market. From them, the paper aims to analyze these results, trying to specify the significances. Applying the Principal Components Analysis to several interesting single variables (coming from the European Values Survey database), some macro-variables were created and inserted in regressions, producing partial results. These macro-components summarize the elements of the Social Capital and they are broken down as single variables. A benchmarking between subjective variables and quantitative ones is realized to explain the concept of the Social Capital, with the aim of consider the individual and collective insight and the concrete effects of this multi-dimensional idea. To fulfill the analysis, a remark is faced on the relationships between the Social Capital and the development, as the causality between them deserves further examinations.
2010
This ongoing project addresses the recent transformations within social policy and practice that gave form to the concept of social innovation. Social innovation is understood as a significant change in the way a given society deals with a social problem. Its significance is measured by scale-number of people, geographical area involved, by scope-its capacity to affect multiple social dimensions, and by resonance-that is, the degree of intensity to which it attracts people's imagination (Nilsson, 2003). The question is to know in which ways the spatial development and spatial justice (Soja, 2010) is affected by the social innovation initiatives carried on within the third sector. The literature on social innovation refers to two main methodologies: working with and not for the people-the conviction that social actors' involvement on the projects that are designed for their benefit is a functional requirement; network cooperation-the understanding that organizations must come out of their walls in order to fully engage with society, for that is the only way to provide an integrated answer to social needs in a network society. The research will approach 3 case studies: a national project on gender equality run by a Local Development Association's network-Animar; a Private Social Institution focused on Health and Wellness-Espaço T; and, a Non Profit Association focused on Housing-Associação Humanitária Habitat. This third case is a methodology of housing support based on volunteer work and territorial network activation, therefore of particular interest for this conference.
Intentional communities in Portugal: effects on social capital development
2017
The present work intends to analyse how and to which extent intentional communities in Portugal enhance the generation of social capital capable of mitigating social inequality and social exclusion. We thus begin by approaching some of the existent literature on the structural dynamics of social problems such as social inequality and social exclusion, with which societies all across the world still struggle today. After reaching some understanding regarding these problems, we seek for potential solutions. In this endeavour, we focus on social capital and try to understand – while debating its meaning and aligning with the contributions of authors such as Bourdieu, Lin and DeFilippis – to which extent it can be perceived as a useful tool for fighting social inequality and exclusion. In this work, social capital’s potential will be studied in a specific context, that of intentional communities. Aiming to provide valuable answers that could contribute to the quest for a more equal soci...
Influence of social capital on development: Results from five Polich municipalities
Aims. This article aims at describing the presence of social capital, as measured by citizen participation in some public affairs and of citizens' trust to certain significant groups in society, and to comment upon the influence of such capital on development. Theoretically, social capital is considered to be a prominent, though often neglected, feature for municipal development.
Strengthening social capital with excluded rural populations in Portugal
ifsa.boku.ac.at
The paper concerns the evaluation of training courses in low-density rural areas within Portugal and focuses on the changes in the lives of these participants and their acquisition of social skills as a result of the training courses. The training program objective was concerned with improving employment skills. The discussion addresses social capital and empowerment to emphasize a non-formal educational strategy for excluded rural populations and the implications in their livelihoods. Woolcock and Narayan (2000) have summarised, outlined and categorized empirical studies surrounding social capital and their practical orientation for rural development. The studies posit that excluded groups need to increase their social capital and relationships with other groups, entities and governmental figures to be empowered and participate in the decision-making process in their communities. The paper presents the educational initiatives in training courses that strengthened social and employment skills. These initiatives designed to improve decision-making in isolated rural communities through the construction of social capital and networks, while promoting active participation in governance will be presented as educational interventions and relate to both economic and non-economic training activities in rural mountainous communities. The preoccupation to a lifelong learning process is not one dimensional, but multi-dimensional (economic, social, cultural, environmental and civic) as a rural development process. The conclusion will consider various clues to improve non-formal educational programs for promoting and strengthening initiatives with rural populations.
Local development, social capital and social network analysis: Evidence from Uruguay
REVISTA DE ESTUDIOS REGIONALES Nº 113, 2018
This article proposes an analytical framework to study local development as a socio-territorial project based on local social capital. Grounded on local endogenous development literature, social capital theories and social network analysis methodologies, the article proposes three hypotheses describing inter-organisational network properties required for the construction of a socio-territorial Development project: basic pre-conditions for local development must exist, in terms of agglomeration economies and density of interactions (H1), local organisations must display central positions in territorial networks (H2), and relations between organisations must be the result of territorial, rather than sectoral, motivations (H3). Using data from a field work carried out in 2014, these requirements are analysed for the case of Punta del Este-Maldonado-San Carlos, an urban region in South-East Uruguay. The results show that the case studied presents favourable conditions for the existence of a socio-territorial development project. Yet, there has been found some weaknesses regarding the scarce integration of social organisations into networks. Based on these results, the article suggests policy recommendations aiming to promote a socio-territorial project for local development.