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Social Capital and Local Development in European Rural Areas: Theory and Empirics

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Social Capital and Local Development

Abstract

Rural development policies are revised to incorporate new networks among actors and new relationships within and between the state, civil society and the market in the context of the so-called neo-endogenous approach. Social capital plays a crucial role by creating shared values and identities, inclusive networks, participatory governance structures and democratic decision-making mechanisms. In this chapter, we critically examine the role of social capital in local development and the neo-endogenous approach. Firstly, we provide a brief overview of theoretical and empirical studies. Then we focus on the role of social capital in EU rural development policies and particularly in the LEADER Approach. As the main object of study in this book, LEADER is considered a “method” set up to activate the participatory dimensions of development processes, emphasised in the neo-endogenous approach.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    These studies attempt to distinguish between “Olsonian-” and “Putnamian-type” groups to capture the full effect of a region’s or country’s group membership on growth. But results are ambiguous and inconclusive.

  2. 2.

    Rural marginalisation is defined in its broader sense as economic, agricultural, environmental and sociocultural decline. It comprises phenomena such as unemployment, the closing down of farm enterprises, out-migration, over-ageing, brain drain, rural poverty and social exclusion, loss of infrastructure and services, environmental degradation, biodiversity depletion, loss of habitats, afforestation, land abandonment, landscape degradation, and loss of cultural tradition and local identities (Wiesinger, 2007, pp. 2, 5).

  3. 3.

    After the Maastricht Treaty (1992) the European Economic Community became European Community.

  4. 4.

    Axis 1 refers to “Improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector”, Axis 2 to “Improving the environment and the countryside”, Axis 3 to “The quality of life in rural areas and diversification of the rural economy” and Axis 4 to the “LEADER Approach”.

  5. 5.

    European Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and Cohesion Fund.

  6. 6.

    Details on the regulatory and policy framework of the RDP and LEADER are included in: https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/; https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/leader-clld_en; http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rural-development-2014–2020/index_en.html.

  7. 7.

    For a detailed analysis, see Christoforou & Pisani (2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of International and European Economic Studies, Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece

    Asimina Christoforou

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  1. Asimina Christoforou
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Correspondence to Asimina Christoforou .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Padova , Legnaro, Italy

    Elena Pisani

  2. University of Padova , Legnaro, Italy

    Giorgio Franceschetti

  3. University of Padova , Legnaro, Italy

    Laura Secco

  4. Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece

    Asimina Christoforou

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Christoforou, A. (2017). Social Capital and Local Development in European Rural Areas: Theory and Empirics. In: Pisani, E., Franceschetti, G., Secco, L., Christoforou, A. (eds) Social Capital and Local Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54277-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54277-5_3

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