Social Capital and Local Development: From Theory to Empirics

Description

This book addresses the role of social capital in promoting rural and local development. The recent financial and economic crises have exposed the European Union (EU) to an increased risk of social exclusion and poverty, which are now at the heart of its economic, employment and social agenda with explicit reference to rural and marginal areas (Europe 2020). The authors' work from the notion that rural development is not imposed from the ‘outside’, but depends also on endogenous factors, namely local cultural and ecological amenities, eco-system services, and economic links with urban areas which expand rural opportunities for innovation, competitiveness, employment and sustainable development. Social capital is of paramount importance because it helps build networks and trusting relations among local stakeholders in the public and private spheres, and supporting the enhancement of governance of natural resources in rural areas Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiv Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Introduction: Motivation, Aim and Contributions (Elena Pisani, Asimina Christoforou, Laura Secco, Giorgio Franceschetti)....Pages 3-22 Social Capital: Intuition, Precept, Concept and Theory (Asimina Christoforou)....Pages 23-41 Social Capital and Local Development in European Rural Areas: Theory and Empirics (Asimina Christoforou)....Pages 43-60 Social Capital and Rural Development in Europe: A Geographical Perspective (Luís Moreno)....Pages 61-81 Social Capital, Network Governance and Social Innovation: Towards a New Paradigm? (Laura Secco, Catie Burlando)....Pages 83-105 Front Matter ....Pages 107-107 Evaluation of Social Capital in LEADER: What’s In and What’s Out? (Elena Pisani, Asimina Christoforou)....Pages 109-134 Evaluation of Social Capital in LEADER: From Theory to Practice (Elena Pisani)....Pages 135-173 Social Capital and the LEADER Approach: A Statistical Method for the Evaluation of Local Action Groups (Riccardo Da Re, Maria Castiglioni, Catie Burlando)....Pages 175-199 Indicators Proposed for the Evaluation of Social Capital in Local Action Groups (Elena Pisani, Giorgio Franceschetti, Riccardo Da Re, Maria Castiglioni)....Pages 201-226 Front Matter ....Pages 227-227 Practicing Social Capital in Local Development: How the Method Applies to Real-World Cases (Elena Pisani, Asimina Christoforou, Catie Burlando, Riccardo Da Re, Giorgio Franceschetti)....Pages 229-254 Evaluation of Structural and Normative-Cognitive Social Capital and Related Governance Aspects at Different Levels of Aggregation Across Regions and LAGs (Catie Burlando, Elena Pisani, Asimina Christoforou, Riccardo Da Re)....Pages 255-279 Regional Comparisons: A Discussion on Social Capital and Local Development (Asimina Christoforou, Elena Pisani, Catie Burlando)....Pages 281-301 Front Matter ....Pages 303-303 LEADER and Social Capital in Veneto: The Case Studies of Prealpi e Dolomiti and Bassa Padovana Local Action Groups (Riccardo Da Re, Giorgio Franceschetti, Elena Pisani)....Pages 305-326 LEADER and Social Capital in Umbria: The Case Studies of Valle Umbra e Sibillini and Ternano Local Action Groups (Biancamaria Torquati, Giulia Giacchè)....Pages 327-344 LEADER and Social Capital in Apulia: The Case Studies of Gargano and Meridaunia Local Action Groups (Antonio Lopolito, Roberta Sisto)....Pages 345-360 LEADER and Social Capital in Basilicata: The Case Studies of COSVEL and Basento Camastra Local Action Groups (Alba Distaso)....Pages 361-376 LEADER and Social Capital in Sardinia: The Case Study of the Sulcis Iglesiente Capoterra E Campidano Di Cagliari Local Action Group (Raffaella Di Napoli, Fabio Muscas)....Pages 377-391 Front Matter ....Pages 393-393 Innovative Elements of the Proposed Evaluation Method and Indications for Improving Monitoring and Evaluation Activities in Rural Development Policy (Elena Pisani, Asimina Christoforou, Laura Secco, Catie Burlando)....Pages 395-416 What Future for LEADER as a Catalyst of Social Innovation? (Laura Secco, Elena Pisani, Catie Burlando, Asimina Christoforou)....Pages 417-438 Back Matter ....Pages 439-516