Abstract
The chapter moves from the discussion of the transformation of civil life and democracy in the era of the technological revolution. Rapid and profound contextual changes have affected citizens’ understanding of the values underpinning the concept of democracy and caused behavioural consequences. Citizens as residents of cities, towns and villages have countered change by retiring into their own private space and distancing themselves from their institutions and public affairs, causing a pervasive loss of social capital across territorial communities. The chapter proceeds to analyse how the new technologies can also provide opportunities to reverse the trends of economic dislocation, social anomie and democratic disengagement, by enabling multi-level governance with new modalities of participation by citizens’ in decision-making, thus increasing the community’s stock of social capital. The discussion turns to how territorial communities are transformed when they embrace a socially participated trajectory of sustainable economic and social growth, because of their capacity to adopt and adapt to IT new developments that help to value and employ their specific set of resources. An updated definition of innovation is derived and offered: as technology-enabled social transformation drawing on “societal knowledge”, a process which moves resources towards innovators to produce community-wide benefits. The chapter discusses how the linking of technological innovation, civic engagement and prosperity may occur and it closes with the analysis of the scenario of the “democracy of the future”, expressed through a range of means of participation, IT-supported policy choices and proposals, and in the end better performing institutions.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
It is also possible that other factors, for instance, the price of raw materials like oil, may distort the comparative performances shown by the figure. This may, for instance, be the case of Russia (whereas, there are also some developed countries whose growth is positively impacted by commodities, like Norway). We, however, believe that the length of the period we are observing and the strength of the correlations are enough to make findings statistically significant.
Bibliography
Ansell, C. (2000). “The Networked Polity: Regional Development in Western Europe”. Governance, 13(3): 303–333.
Attewell, P., and Newman, K. S. (eds.). (2010). Growing Gaps: Educational Inequality Around the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bache, I. (2008). “Cohesion Policy”. In Graziano, P., and Vink, M. (eds.) Europeanization (pp. 239–252). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Barrett, S. M. (2004). “Implementation Studies: Time for a Revival? Personal Reflections on 20 Years of Implementation Studies”. Public Administration, 82(2): 249–262.
Barro Robert, J. (1996). “Democracy and Growth”. Journal of Economic Growth, 1(1): 1–27.
Boschma, R. A. (2016). “Smart Specialisation and Regional Innovation Policy”. Welsh Economic Review, 24: 17.
Carvalho, N., Carvalho, L., and Nunes, S. (2015). “A Methodology to Measure Innovation in the European Union Through the National Innovation System”. International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development, 6(2): 159–180.
Chadwick, A. (2017). The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power. New York: Oxford University Press.
Coase, R. H. (1993). “The Nature of the Firm”. In Williamson, O., and Winter, S. (eds.) The Nature of the Firm: Origins, Evolution, and Development. New York: Oxford University Press.
Donati, P. (2013). La Famiglia. Il Genoma che fa Vivere la Società. Soveria Mannelli: Rubettino.
Drucker, P. F. (1998). “The Discipline of Innovation”. Leader to Leader, 1998(9): 13–15.
European Commission (EC). (1995). “Green Paper on Inovation”. Directorate Dissemination and Exploitation of R&TD Results, Technology Transfer and Innovation. http://europa.eu/documents/comm/green_papers/pdf/com95_688_en.pdf.
European Commission (EC). (2016). “Mapping Study on Social Enterprise Eco-Systems. Update Country Report on Italy”. Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.
Ferragina, E. (2012). Social Capital in Europe: A Comparative Regional Analysis. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Fowler, A. G. (2013). “Five Studies on the Causes and Consequences of Voter Turnout”. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11156810.
Franklin, M. N. (2004). Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies Since 1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Frodermann, L. (2018). Exploratory Study on Circular Economy. A Comparative Analysis of Theory and Practice. Wiesbaden: Springer.
Fung, E. S. (2002). In Search of Chinese Democracy: Civil Opposition in Nationalist China, 1929–1949. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gbikpi, B., and Grote, J. R. (2002). From Democratic Government to Participatory Governance. In Participatory Governance (pp. 17–34). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Grillo, F., and Nanetti, R. (2016). Innovation, Democracy, Efficiency: Exploring the Innovation Puzzle within the European Union’s Regional Development Policies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hargadon, A., and Sutton, R. I. (2000). “Building an Innovation Factory”. Harvard Business Review, 78(3), 157–166.
Hooghe, L., and Marks, G. (2001). “Types of Multi-Level Governance”. European Integration Online Papers (EIoP), 5(11).
Marks, G., and Hooghe, L. (2003). National Identity and Support for European Integration (No. SP IV 2003-202). WZB Discussion Paper.
Maw, P. (2013). Transport and the Industrial City. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kerlin, J. (ed.). (2017). Shaping Social Entreprise: Understanding Institutional Context and Influence. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.
Kooiman, J. (2004). “Governing as Governance”. Revista Instituciones y Desarrollo, 16: 171–194.
Koschatzky, K. (2001). “Networks in Innovation Research and Innovation Policy—An Introduction”. In Innovation Networks (pp. 3–23). Heidelberg: Physica.
Kung, H., and Schmid, L. (2015). “Innovation, Growth, and Asset Prices”. The Journal of Finance, 70(3): 1001–1037.
Leonardi, R. (1995). “Regional Development in Italy: Social Capital and the Mezzogiorno”. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 11(2): 165–179.
Leonardi, R. (2017). “Il Programma di Coesione della Strategia Europa 2020 Come Politica Economica Europea”. In Marini, M. (ed.) Le Politiche di Coesione Territoriale: Un Confronto tra Italia e Stati Uniti d’America. Soveria Mannelli: Rubettino.
Lucas, R. E. (1988) “On the Mechanics of Economic Development”. Journal of Monetary Economics, 22: 3–42.
Mangan, D., and Gillies, L. E. (eds.). (2017). The Legal Challenges of Social Media. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Manoharan, A., and Holzer M. (eds.). (2012). E-Governance and Civic Engagement. Factors and Determinants of E-Democracy. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Maraffi, M., Newton, K., van Deth, J., and Whiteley, P. (1999). Social Capital and European Democracy. London and New York: Routledge.
Melgarejo, J., and Brebbia, C. A. (2018). Urban Growth and the Circular Economy. Southampton: WIT Press.
Nanetti, R. (2009). “Bridging the Gap Through Social Capital Accumulation: Ethnic Reconciliation and Economic Development in Gorizia (Italy), Nova Gorica (Slovenia), and Sempeter Vertojba (Slovenia)”. Studies in Urban and Regional Planning, 49–69.
Nanetti, R. (2012). “Building the Future: Strategic Visions for American Cities and Their Relevance for European Cities”. In Cappellini, R., et al. (eds.) La citta’ nell’economia della conoscenza. Milan: Angeli.
Nanetti, R., and Holguin, R. (2016). Social Capital in Development Planning. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Norris, P. (2011). Democratic Deficit: Critical Citizens Revisited. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
OECD. (1963). The Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities, Frascati Manual. Paris: OECD Publishing.
OECD. (2002). The Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities, Frascati Manual 2002, Proposed Standard Practice for Surveys on Research and Experimental Development. Paris: OECD Publishing.
O’Toole, L. J., Jr. (2000). “Research on Policy Implementation: Assessment and Prospects”. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 10(2): 263–288.
Paraskevopoulos, C. J. (2006). “EU Enlargement and Multi-Level Governance in European Public Policy-Making: Actors, Institutions and Learning”. In Paraskevopoulos, C. J., Getimis, P., and Rees, N. (eds.) Adapting to EU Multi-Level Governance: Regional and Environmental Policies in Cohesion and CEE Countries (pp. 3–24). Ashgate: Routledge.
Paraskevopoulos, C. J., and Leonardi, R. (2004). “Introduction: Adaptational Pressures and Social Learning in European Regional Policy–Cohesion (Greece, Ireland and Portugal) vs. CEE (Hungary, Poland) Countries”. Regional and Federal Studies, 14(3): 315–354.
Perotti, R. (1996). “Growth, Income Distribution, and Democracy: What the Data Say”. Journal of Economic Growth, 1(2): 149–187.
Peters, B. G. (1997). “Policy Transfers Between Governments: The Case of Administrative Reforms”. West European Politics, 20(4): 71–88.
Peters, B. G., and Pierre, J. (1998). “Governance Without Government? Rethinking Public Administration”. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 8(2): 223–243.
Pierre, J., and Peters, G. B. (2000). Governance, Politics and the State. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Piketty, T. (2017). Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Putnam, R. D. (1995). “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital”. Journal of Democracy, 6(1): 65–78.
Putnam, R. D. (2001). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Putnam, R. D. (2015). Our Kids. The American Dream in Crisis. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Putnam, R. D., Leonardi, R., and Nanetti, R. (1993). Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Romer, P. M. (1986). “Increasing Returns and Long-Run Growth”. The Journal of Political Economy, 94(5): 1002–1037.
Romer, P. M. (1990). “Endogenous Technological Change”. Journal of Political Economy, 98(2): 71–102.
Rosenau, J., and Czempiel, E.-O. (1992). “Governance Without Government: Order and Change in World Government”. Cambridge Studies in International Relations, 20. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sacconi, L., and D’Antoni, G. (eds.). (2010). Social Capital, Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Behavior and Performance. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Schwanholz, J., Fraham, T., and Stoll, P.-T. (2018). Managing Democracy in the Digital Age. Internet Regulation, Social Media Use, and Online Civic Engagement. Wiesbaden: Springer.
Solow, R. (1987). “We’d Better Watch Out”. In Cohen, S. S., and Zysman, J. (eds.) Manufacturing Matters: The Myth of the Post-Industrial Economy (p. 36). New York: New York Times Book Review.
Steinfield, C., Ellison, N. B., and Lampe, C. (2008). “Social Capital, Self-Esteem, and Use of Online Social Network Sites: A Longitudinal Analysis”. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6): 434–445.
Stoker, G. (1998). “Governance as Theory: Five Propositions”. International Social Science Journal, 50(155): 17–28.
Thatcher, M. (1998). “The Development of Policy Network Analyses: From Modest Origins to Overarching Frameworks”. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 10(4): 389–416.
Tuorto, D. (2004). “Voto e Non Voto Tra Partecipazione, Impegno e Astensionismo”. Il Mulino, 6: 1115–1118.
Tuorto, D. (2014). “L’Aumento dell’Astensionismo in un’Elezione di Crisi”. In Chiaromonte, A., and DeSio, L. (eds.) Terremoto elettorale (pp. 75–96). Bologna: Il Mulino.
Vinci, F. (2013). L’Efficacia dei Fondi Strutturali Europei. Milan: Franco Angeli.
Weil, D. (2014). The Fissured Workplace. Why Work Became so Bad for so Many and What Can Be Done to Improve It. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wright, V., and Page, E. (2007). From the Active to the Enabling State: The Changing Role of European Officials in European Nations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Zider, B. (1998). “How Venture Capital Works”. Harvard Business Review, 76(6): 131–139.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Grillo, F., Nanetti, R.Y. (2018). Making Democracy Work for Innovation. In: Democracy and Growth in the Twenty-first Century. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02014-9_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02014-9_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-02013-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-02014-9
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)