000			01925nam a2200205Ia 4500
999			_c171764 _d171764
005			20220425172227.0
008			200208s9999 xx 000 0 und d
020			_a9781781000212
082			_a330.92 FER
100			_aFerragina, Emanuele.
245		0	_aSocial capital in europe : comparative regional analysis
260			_aCheltenham
260			_bEdward elgar
260			_c2012
300			_a226 p.
365			_dPND
520			_aThe book investigates the determinants of social capital across 85 European regions capturing the renewed interest among social capital theorists for the importance of active secondary groups in supporting the correct functioning of society and its democratic institutions. Robert Putnam merged quantitative and historical analyses, suggesting that the lack of social capital in the south of Italy was mainly due to a peculiar historical development rather than being the product of a mix of structural socio-economic factors, a conclusion that has been the subject of fierce criticism and debate. Emanuele Ferragina analyzes the influence of income inequality, economic development, labor market participation and national divergence. By complementing these socio-economic explanations with a comparative historic-institutional analysis between two deviant cases (Wallonia and the south of Italy) and two regular cases (Flanders and the north east of Italy), the findings suggest that income inequality, labor market participation and national divergence are important factors in explaining the lack of social capital. Furthermore, the traditional historical determinism is refuted with the formulation of the sleeping social capital theory. Sociologists, political scientists, economic historians and scholars interested in comparative methods and European politics and policy will find this informative book invaluable.
650			_aSocial capital
942			_cB _2ddc