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Social Capital and Localised Learning: Proximity and Place in Technological and Institutional Dynamics

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  • Mark Lorenzen

    (Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy (IVS), Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Kilevej 14A, 3, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark, mark@cbs.dk)

Abstract

This conceptual paper analyses why social capital is important for learning and economic development, how it is created and its geography. It argues that with the rise of globalisation and learning-based competition, social capital is becoming valuable because it organises markets, lowering business firms' costs of co-ordinating and allowing them flexibly to connect and reconnect. The paper defines social capital as a matrix of various social relations, combined with particular normative and cognitive social institutions that facilitate co-operation and reciprocity, and suggests that social capital is formed at spatial scales lower than the national or international, because the density of matrices of social relations increases with proximity. The paper also offers a discussion of how national and regional policies may be suited for promoting social capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Lorenzen, 2007. "Social Capital and Localised Learning: Proximity and Place in Technological and Institutional Dynamics," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(4), pages 799-817, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:44:y:2007:i:4:p:799-817
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980601184752
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Guido Capaldo & Margarida Fontes & Lorella Cannavacciuolo & Pierluigi Rippa & Cristina Sousa, 2015. "Networks Mobilized to Access Key Resources at Early Stages of Biotech Firms: A Comparative Analysis in Two Moderately Innovative Countries," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7), pages 1381-1400, July.
    3. Gloria Parra‐Requena & Francesc Xavier Molina‐Morales & Pedro Manuel García‐Villaverde, 2010. "The Mediating Effect of Cognitive Social Capital on Knowledge Acquisition in Clustered Firms," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 59-84, March.
    4. Neij, Lena & Heiskanen, Eva & Strupeit, Lars, 2017. "The deployment of new energy technologies and the need for local learning," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 274-283.
    5. Huggins Robert & Thompson Piers, 2012. "Entrepreneurship and Community Culture: A Place-Based Study of Their Interdependency," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 2(1), pages 1-36, January.
    6. Strupeit, Lars, 2017. "An innovation system perspective on the drivers of soft cost reduction for photovoltaic deployment: The case of Germany," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 273-286.
    7. Beatriz Plaza, 2008. "On Some Challenges and Conditions for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to be an Effective Economic Re‐activator," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 506-517, June.
    8. Sergio Mariotti & Lucia Piscitello & Stefano Elia, 2014. "Local Externalities and Ownership Choices in Foreign Acquisitions by Multinational Enterprises," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 90(2), pages 187-211, April.
    9. Stanislav Kološta & Lenka Sabelová & Pavol Kráľ, 2018. "Assessment of National Program of Learning Regions in Slovakia – Design and Testing," DANUBE: Law and Economics Review, European Association Comenius - EACO, issue 2, pages 117-133, June.
    10. Sylwia Dołzbłasz & Andrzej Raczyk, 2017. "Transborder Co-Operation and Competition Among Firms in the Polish-German Borderland," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 108(2), pages 141-156, April.
    11. Arno Brandt & Claudia Hahn & Stefan Krätke & Matthias Kiese, 2009. "Metropolitan Regions In The Knowledge Economy: Network Analysis As A Strategic Information Tool," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 100(2), pages 236-249, April.

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