Relationships between Social Capital and regional development in Europe: a close examination (original) (raw)
Related papers
The impact of social capital on the regional growth and competitiveness in Poland
This article aims at presenting different approaches to the phenomenon of social c api tal . Th e conce pt o f so ci al c api tal i s am big uo us an d th at i s why we will highlight a number of definitions of this notion. The central attention of the paper focuses on the relationship between social capital and regional development and competitiveness. The fundamental question concerns the impact of social capital on the regional economic performance. Hence, we will survey the empirical examination of 16 Polish regions in terms of social capital. We will also study whether the regional level of social capital depends on the level of competitiveness. The purpose of this article is also to make a contribution to the discussion concerning the relationship between economic development and social capital.
Sustainability, 2018
For some time, researchers have been interested in determinants of long-term growth which are not purely economic in nature. The development of the concept of social capital by sociologists, politologists and economists is a visible effect of this interest. Any determinant of long-term growth is obviously important from the point of view of sustainability, particularly when its relation to other factors of sustainability, such as environmental protection, is taken into account. This article presents the results of research into spatial variation in social capital within Poland (according to region and size of home town). The authors consider social capital in relation to trust, trustworthiness and, in particular, cooperation, as well as taking into account attitudes regarding legal norms (law-abidingness). Such a wide approach enables us to eliminate the negative aspects of trust and concentrate on its positive forms, which can result in an economic rent. The aim of the article is to identify regions of Poland that are characterized by a high level of social capital from the point of view of individuals exhibiting a willingness to cooperate with others and observe the law and relate these results with the perspectives for long-term growth in Poland. The results of the research are based on a study carried out on a sample of 1540 students using experimental game theory alongside a questionnaire that investigated various aspects of cooperation, trust, trustworthiness and aversion to inequality. The results of the study indicate intuitively reasonable associations between the data from the questionnaire and behaviour in the experimental games suggesting that the declarations are (in statistical terms) meaningful. Analysis indicates that, in Poland, readiness to cooperate tends to be higher in rural areas. Although the study concentrates on the relation between social capital and economic development, it is also argued that high levels of social capital also favour other components of sustainable development.
Is social capital useful for explaining economic development in Polish regions?
2014
The concept of social capital is widely perceived as a promising tool for explaining differences in economic development between countries and regions. According to this theory, weak links (bridging social capital) and social trust in an area favour its better access to other forms of capital, that is, economic and human capital. However, strong links (bonding social capital) may stifle creativity and entrepreneurship. Since the vast majority of research on the impact of social capital on economic development focuses on highly developed Western European countries, it seems particularly interesting to evaluate the usefulness of this approach when applied to post-communist countries with their different experiences. The objective of this article is to identify the spatial variation of different forms of social capital in regions of Poland and then to test a hypothesis on the impact of this capital on regional economic development. The results demonstrate that despite the existing differences between regions there are no significant relationships between levels of social capital and economic development. This may be explained either by low social capital levels or by the overall degree of Polish economic development.
Towards Indicators of Social Capital for Regional Development Issues: The Case of French Rural Areas
Regional Studies, 2007
This paper aims at giving empirical content to the notion of social capital for regional development issues. It first provides a typology of both positive and negative influences of sociological factors on economic performance, and a set of available social capital indicators. Second, using the results of four case studies, the relevance of these indicators is assessed. Third, it presents an econometric study on the role of social capital on economic development. The results show that both local cohesion ("bonding") and external social links ("bridging") are important in order to define social capital and explain performance.
Social capital and economic growth in the regions of Europe
LSE Research Online Documents on Economics, 2021
Social capital is an important factor explaining differences in economic growth among regions. However, the key distinction between bonding social capital, which can lead to lock-in and myopia, and bridging social capital, which promotes knowledge flows across diverse groups, has been overlooked in growth research. In this paper, we address this shortcoming by examining how bonding and bridging social capital affect regional economic growth, using data for 190 regions in 21 EU countries, covering eight waves of the European Social Survey between 2002 and 2016. The findings confirm that bridging social capital is linked to higher levels of regional economic growth. Bonding social capital is highly correlated with bridging social capital and associated with lower growth when this is controlled for. We do not find significantly different effects of bonding social capital in regions with more or less bridging social capital, or vice versa. We examine the interaction between social and human capital, finding that bridging social capital is fundamental for stimulating economic growth, especially in low-skilled regions. Human capital also moderates the relationship between bonding social capital and growth, reducing the negative externalities imposed by excessive bonding.
The relationship between social capital and regional competitiveness in Poland
This article aims at presenting different approaches to the phenomenon of social capital. The concept of social capital is ambiguous and that is why we will highlight a number of definitions of this notion. The central attention of the paper focuses on the relationship between social capital and regional development and competitiveness. The fundamental question concerns the impact of social capital on the regional economic performance. Hence, we will survey the empirical examination of 16 Polish regions in terms of social capital. We will also study whether the regional level of social capital depends on the level of competitiveness. The purpose of this article is also to make a contribution to the discussion concerning the relationship between economic development and social capital.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2013
Despite its historical roots and wide contemporary use, the debate over the conceptualization of social capital is very much alive among researchers of different academic subjects, with its main goal being the development of empirical measurement tools. The chief aim of this article is to demonstrate the multidimensional and consistent structure of social capital in European regions through an exploratory factor analysis and a subsequent confirmatory factor analysis.Throughout the paper we critically analyze the gap between the theoretical understandings of social capital and the ways it has been measured in most empirical work so far. We use data from the five European Social Survey waves (2002-2010) in European regions. We also approach social capital levels in these regions: diachronically between 2002 and 2010 using a time-series analysis and synchronically in 2010 using an analysis of variance to determine mean differences (ANOVA). Lastly, we study the effect several determinants have, at individual and national levels over the different dimensions of social capital so as to determine whether there are verifiable differences between European regions. In order to do this we used OLS regression analyses.