Given the global crises confronting the world today, it is important to interrogate the notion of “the modern state” and to evaluate its effectiveness in providing security and services for its populations, including the most disadvantaged and vulnerable. This book investigates the modern state’s capacity to serve its constituents by examining the organisations that facilitate two key elements of contemporary living: social capital and social enterprise. These elements are explored in a series of rich case studies located in Australia, Ireland and Bangladesh, with broader implications for policy and practice in the rest of the world. The case studies highlight the growing importance of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship in fostering social capital and in contributing to the idea of “the enabling state”. This book will appeal to researchers, policy-makers and community leaders working in business, education, employment pathways, homelessness, housing, local government, mental health, public administration and refugee resettlement.

Social Capital and Entrepreneurship concludes by examining the tension between the properties of social networks used in entrepreneurship researchers' models and the limited perspective on networks available to practicing entrepreneurs.

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

"The bestselling author of Bowling Alone offers [an] ... examination of the American Dream in crisis--how and why opportunities for upward mobility are diminishing, jeopardizing the prospects of an ever larger segment of Americans"--

In a 24/7 world and a global economy, there is no doubt that relationships impact virtually every economic transaction. In Relationship Economics, Lindon Robison and Bryan Ritchie argue that what needs to be understood is not just whether relationships matter (which, of course, they do), but also, how much, and in what circumstances they should matter. Providing a rigorous and measurable definition of the way that relationships among individuals create a capital, social capital, that can be saved, spent, and used like other forms of capital, Robison and Ritchie use numerous examples and insightful analysis, to explain how social capital shapes our ability to reduce poverty, understand corruption, encourage democracy, facilitate income equality, and respond to globalization. The first part of the book explains how social capital can be manipulated, stored, expended, and invested. The second part explores how levels of social capital within relationships influence economic transactions both positively and negatively, which in turn shape poverty levels, economic efficiency, levels and types of political participation, and institutional structures.

The idea of social capital allows scholars to assess the quality of relationships among people within a particular community and show how that quality affects the ability to achieve shared goals. With evidence collected from sixty-nine villages in India, Krishna investigates what social capital is, how it operates in practice, and what results it can be expected to produce. Does social capital provide a viable means for advancing economic development, promoting ethnic peace, and strengthening democratic governance? The world is richer than ever before, but more than a fifth of its people are poor and miserable. Civil wars and ethnic strife continue to mar prospects for peace. Democracy is in place in most countries, but large numbers of citizens do not benefit from it. How can development, peace and democracy become more fruitful for the ordinary citizen? This book shows how social capital is a crucial dimension of any solution to these problems.

Assisted by globalization and the rapid application of advanced technologies, the transformative power of urbanization is being felt around the world. The scale and the speed of existing and projected urbanization poses several challenges to researchers in multiple disciplines, such as computer science, engineering, and the social sciences. Optimizing Regional Development Through Transformative Urbanization provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of applications within urban growth interventions. It also explores the strategies for new urban development tools such as the rise of new platforms for digital activities, concepts of sharing economy, collaborative economy, crowdsourcing, and crowdfunding. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as cryptocurrencies, public-private partnership, and urban governance, this book is a vital reference for city development planners, decision makers, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and professionals seeking current research on the delivery of transformative urbanization changes.