Social Capital, Networks and Economic Development PDF Download

Author: María Semitiel García
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781781958711
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Analyses productive systems from a structural relational perspective, linking the structure and evolution of productive systems to economic development. This book adopts an epistemological approach that considers the social nature of economic actors and the importance of historical and geographical aspects.

Author: Jonathan Isham
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781781950388
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
The chapters in this volume explore the challenges and opportunities raised by this concept for researchers, practitioners and teachers. Social Capital and Economic Development is based upon a consistent, policy-based vision of how social capital affects well-being in developing countries.

Author: John M. Halstead
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317686047
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
In Social Capital at the Community Level, John Halstead and Steven Deller examine social capital formation beyond the individual level through a variety of disciplines: planning, economics, regional development, sociology, as well as non-traditional approaches like engineering and built environmental features. The notion of social capital in community and economic development has become a focus of intense interest for policy makers, practitioners, and academics. The notion is that communities with higher levels of social capital (networks, trust, and norms) will prosper both economically and socially. In a practical sense, how do communities use the notion of social capital to build policies and strategies to move their community forward? Are all forms of social capital the same and do all have a positive influence on the community? To help gain insights into these fundamental questions Social Capital at the Community Level takes a holistic, interdisciplinary or systems approach to thinking about the community. While those who study social capital will acknowledge the need for an interdisciplinary approach, most stay within their disciplinary silos. One could say there is strong bonding social capital within disciplines but little bridging social capital across disciplines. The contributors to Social Capital at the Community Level have made an attempt to build that bridging social capital. While disciplinary biases and research approaches are evident there is significant overlap about how people with different disciplinary perspectives think about social capital and how it can be applied at the community level. This can be from neighborhoods addressing a localized issue to a global response to a natural disaster. This book is an invaluable resource for scholars, researchers and policy makers of community and economic development, as well as rural sociologists and planners looking to understand the opaque process of social capital formation in communities.

Author: Dario Castiglione
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199271232
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 745

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Book Description
Social capital is a relatively new concept in the social sciences. In the last twenty or so years it has come to indicate that networks of social relationships represent a 'resource' for both the individual and society, since they provide support for the individual and facilitate collective action. Although this is not an entirely new idea, the more systematic way in which social capital captures such an intuition has created a new theoretical paradigm and helped to develop a seriesof innovative research programmes in politics, economics, and the study of human well-being. The concept has gained currency beyond academia, extending its influence to political and policy-making circles at local, national, and international levels. It has also affected the way in which socialsurveys are conceived and public policies assessed. As the idea of social capital has spread, the literature about it has increased exponentially. After twenty years of rapid expansion it is time for a more considered and critical assessment of how the original concept has been adapted and refined, and how successful its application has been. The Handbook of Social Capital intends to do precisely that. It offers a state-of-the-art view of discussions about the concept of social capitaland the way in which it has been applied in empirical research.The organization of the Handbook reflects this intention by focusing on conceptual development and analysis in the first part; by identifying two main areas of research in which social capital has favoured the development of new and influential research programmes - political participation in democratic societies, and economic development; and by exploring the more normative and policy oriented consequences of social capital. All chapters comprising the volume were specifically writtenfor the Handbook by some of the main experts in the fields. The book provides authoritative and innovative introduction to the study of social capital.

Author: Christiaan Grootaert
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521812917
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 394

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Book Description
Previously the role of social capital - defined as the institutions and networks of relationships between people, and the associated norms and values - in programs of poverty alleviation and development has risen to considerable prominence. Although development practitioners have long suspected that social capital does affect the efficiency and quality of most development processes, this book provides the rigorous empirical results needed to confirm that impression and translate it into effective and informed policymaking. It is based on a large volume of collected data, relying equally on quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to establish approaches for measuring social capital and its impact. The book documents the pervasive role of social capital in accelerating poverty alleviation and rural development, facilitating the provision of goods and services, and easing political transition and recovery from civil conflicts.

Author: Patrick Francois
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134487738
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
This immensely readable book by Patrick François provides an original insight into the increasingly fashionable topic that is social capital. In a unique, original study, the author emphasises trustworthiness as a vital feature of social capital and argues that standard economic treatments of this phenomenon are inadequate. The book's richer evolutionary treatment of this is embedded in a neoclassical model and will prove to be essential reading for economic development scholars as well as those interested in development studies and economic thought in general.

Author: Partha Dasgupta
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9780821350041
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 438

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Book Description
This book contains a number of papers presented at a workshop organised by the World Bank in 1997 on the theme of 'Social Capital: Integrating the Economist's and the Sociologist's Perspectives'. The concept of 'social capital' is considered through a number of theoretical and empirical studies which discuss its analytical foundations, as well as institutional and statistical analyses of the concept. It includes the classic 1987 article by the late James Coleman, 'Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital', which formed the basis for the development of social capital as an organising concept in the social sciences.

Author: Susan Saegert
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610444825
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Neighborhood support groups have always played a key role in helping the poor survive, but combating poverty requires more than simply meeting the needs of day-to-day subsistence. Social Capital and Poor Communities shows the significant achievements that can be made through collective strategies, which empower the poor to become active partners in revitalizing their neighborhoods. Trust and cooperation among residents and local organizations such as churches, small businesses, and unions form the basis of social capital, which provides access to resources that would otherwise be out of reach to poor families. Social Capital and Poor Communities examines civic initiatives that have built affordable housing, fostered small businesses, promoted neighborhood safety, and increased political participation. At the core of each initiative lie local institutions—church congregations, parent-teacher groups, tenant associations, and community improvement alliances. The contributors explore how such groups build networks of leaders and followers and how the social power they cultivate can be successfully transferred from smaller goals to broader political advocacy. For example, community-based groups often become platforms for leaders hoping to run for local office. Church-based groups and interfaith organizations can lobby for affordable housing, job training programs, and school improvement. Social Capital and Poor Communities convincingly demonstrates why building social capital is so important in enabling the poor to seek greater access to financial resources and public services. As the contributors make clear, this task is neither automatic nor easy. The book's frank discussions of both successes and failures illustrate the pitfalls—conflicts of interest, resistance from power elites, and racial exclusion—that can threaten even the most promising initiatives. The impressive evidence in this volume offers valuable insights into how goal formation, leadership, and cooperation can be effectively cultivated, resulting in a remarkable force for change and a rich public life even for those communities mired in seemingly hopeless poverty. A Volume in the Ford Foundation Series on Asset Building

Author: Emanuele Ferragina
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1781000220
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
ïThis book is a must for anyone interested in the concept of social capital.Í _ Martin Seeleib-Kaiser, University of Oxford, UK ïThe quantitative survey of social capital at the regional level is an original contribution that opens a fresh geographic perspective on the literature in this field. Moving beyond the statistical representation of regional patterns the authorÍs use of case studies illuminates how local culture and historical contexts influence the manifestations of social capital. This volume breaks new ground challenging conventional analysis to advance our understanding of social capital.Í _ Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley, US ïSocial Capital in Europe dismantles Robert PutnamÍs theoretical model by critically discussing the most prominent international literature in the field and by analyzing a large bulk of empirical and historical evidence. According to Putnam, the lack of social capital in the South of Italy dates back to medieval history. His ñhistorical determinismî, that seems to erase every influence of contemporary social phenomena, is largely contradicted by Ferragina.Í _ Piero Bevilacqua, University of Rome, Italy ïThe concept of social capital has enjoyed increasing vogue among social scientists. Historians have been mobilized to support the importance of this concept in various ways, and in turn they have increasingly relied on it. The historian will find in this book both a definitive guide to the theoretical debate behind this controversial concept and an impressive demonstration of how it can be used to produce comparative historical analysis.Í _ Agostino Inguscio, Yale University, US The book investigates the determinants of social capital across 85 European regions capturing the renewed interest among social capital theorists for the importance of active secondary groups in supporting the correct functioning of society and its democratic institutions. Robert Putnam merged quantitative and historical analyses, suggesting that the lack of social capital in the south of Italy was mainly due to a peculiar historical development rather than being the product of a mix of structural socio-economic factors, a conclusion that has been the subject of fierce criticism and debate. Emanuele Ferragina analyses the influence of income inequality, economic development, labour market participation and national divergence. By complementing these socio-economic explanations with a comparative historic-institutional analysis between two deviant cases (Wallonia and the south of Italy) and two regular cases (Flanders and the north east of Italy), the findings suggest that income inequality, labour market participation and national divergence are important factors in explaining the lack of social capital. Furthermore, the traditional historical determinism is refuted with the formulation of the sleeping social capital theory. Sociologists, political scientists, economic historians and scholars interested in comparative methods and European politics and policy will find this informative book invaluable.

Author: David Halpern
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 0745625479
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
This work presents an introduction to the concept of social capital - a term which refers to the social networks, informal structures and norms that facilitate individual and collective action.