Overview

Social capital is often considered a key factor for local development. This book analyzes the role of social capital for rural areas' survival and development in the current age of metropolitan growth - an era in which urban is the norm and where rural areas must adapt to this new situation and build innovative urban-rural relations.The traditional division between 'rural' and 'urban' is no longer valid in the knowledge society. Instead of being a homogeneous unit based on primary sector production, the countryside in the developed world increasingly consists of areas with very different development paths. With examples from Europe, Asia and America, the book discusses building and renewal of rural social capital from both bottom-up and top-down perspectives, and from the standpoint of business, and both the public and private sectors. Being the first book to treat social capital and rural development in the age of megacities and the knowledge economy, it will be of great benefit to academics interested in social capital research and rural development. Contributors: L. Dahlgren, K. Eliasson, M. Emmelin, M. Eriksson, S. Fölster, A. Forsberg, A. Gasior-Niemiec, T. Hatori, K. Ito, H. Jeong, K. Kobayashi, Y. Li, D. Natcher, M.R. Olfert, G. Ray, C. Waldenström, L. Westin, H. Westlund, J. Zola

Full Product Details

Author:   Hans Westlund ,  Kiyoshi Kobayashi
Publisher:   Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Imprint:   Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.684kg
ISBN:  

9781782540595

ISBN 10:   1782540598
Pages:   352
Publication Date:   30 July 2013
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

Contents: Preface 1. Social Capital and Sustainable Urban–Rural Relationships in the Global Knowledge Society Hans Westlund and Kiyoshi Kobayashi PART I: NEEDS AND PROBLEMS OF BUILDING SOCIAL CAPITAL 2. Forest Governance and Social Capital: Structures and Functions Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Tsuyoshi Hatori and Hayeong Jeong 3. Joint Facilities, Improvement Districts, Clubs and Commons: Towards a Taxonomy of Institutionalised Social Capital Lars Westin and Johanna Zola 4. Foundations of Collective Action: Towards a General Theory Gautam Ray PART II: ANALYSES OF EFFECTS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL 5. Does Social Capital Contribute to Regional Economic Growth? Swedish Experiences Kent Eliasson, Hans Westlund and Stefan Fölster 6. Changes in Social Capital and Community Functions in Depopulated Areas from Case Studies of 12 Communities in the San’in District Katsuhisa Ito 7. Social Capital in Rural Poland: Between Tradition and Social Engineering Anna Gąsior-Niemiec 8. Social Capital and Economic Growth in China’s Provinces Yuheng Li and Hans Westlund PART III: PROBLEMS OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AND RURAL POLICIES 9. Social Capital and Place-based Policy: Aboriginal Communities in Canada M. Rose Olfert and David Natcher 10. What Can Local Policies Do? An Activity Theory Analysis of Municipal Support to Local Innovations Cecilia Waldenström 11. Local Responses to Structural Changes: Collective Action for Rural Communities in Sweden Anette Forsberg 12. Collective Actors as Driving Forces for Mobilizing Social Capital in a Local Community: What Can be Learned for Health Promotion? Malin Eriksson, Lars Dahlgren and Maria Emmelin 13. Social Capital for Sustainable Rural Regions: The Roles of Voluntary Association-Mediated Public Service Hayeong Jeong, Kiyoshi Kobayashi and Hans Westlund Index

Reviews

'This book by Westlund and Kobayashi emphasises the fact that the gap between urban and rural areas is no longer relevant today: all places and regions are under a strong influence from cities. The authors show in a straightforward way that the continuum between more and less urbanized places requires new types of regulations, based on innovation and local skills, and that rural policies cannot be based on agriculture only but primarily require the mobilization of local social capital links.' -- Andre Torre, INRA - Agroparistech, Paris, France ' Rural communities are not all resource dependent and very low-density places. Not all have people leaving in droves and no newcomers. This book's theoretical arguments and case studies (from five countries) help one understand better the diversity of rural . We find population gainers, population losers; newcomers and long-term stayers together in sizable towns; Aboriginal communities where out-migration is limited. The diversity is a key dimension in the analyses of public and private action to build and maintain social capital.' -- Roger E. Bolton, Williams College, US 'This amazingly surprising book takes the popular topic of social capital and provocatively examines the contemporary rural development issue. New social capital driven thinking and insights are applied globally from a conceptual frame and locally with examples. The way forward for both urban and rural development is achieved when the variables that define social capital are simultaneously balanced around focused development objectives. Examples show how a multidimensional view of social capital enables meaningful rural development.' -- Roger R. Stough, George Mason University, US 'Overall, Westlund and Kobayashi must be congratulated for this excellent contribution highlighting development opportunities but also serious issues, and particularly the role of SC - one of the major assets of rural areas in the globalizing world. This book definitely provides many fresh ideas for academics as well as rural development practitioners.' -- European Journal of Development Research

' Rural communities are not all resource dependent and very low-density places. Not all have people leaving in droves and no newcomers. This book's theoretical arguments and case studies (from five countries) help one understand better the diversity of rural . We find population gainers, population losers; newcomers and long-term stayers together in sizable towns; Aboriginal communities where out-migration is limited. The diversity is a key dimension in the analyses of public and private action to build and maintain social capital.' - Roger E. Bolton, Williams College, US 'This amazingly surprising book takes the popular topic of social capital and provocatively examines the contemporary rural development issue. New social capital driven thinking and insights are applied globally from a conceptual frame and locally with examples. The way forward for both urban and rural development is achieved when the variables that define social capital are simultaneously balanced around focused development objectives. Examples show how a multidimensional view of social capital enables meaningful rural development.' - Roger R. Stough, George Mason University, US

Author Information

Edited by Hans Westlund, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping, Sweden and Institute for Developmental and Strategic Analysis, Ljubljana, Slovenia and Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Professor, Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University, Japan

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