Social Capital in Hong Kong

Social Capital in Hong Kong
Author: Sik Hung NG
Publisher: City University of HK Press
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9629371863

"Given the rapid pace at which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and other Asian economies are growing and the global volatility that these societies are experiencing, social capital and its divers connectivities can furnish useful anchoring to communities, neighbourhoods, local governments and social protection networks. This book provides a critical analysis of social capital, its indigenous evolution and spread in HKSAR. Some of the experiments and activities narrated in this book indicate the ingenious blending of the local ethos and culture with modern organisational forms and information networks." -- BACK COVER.

Exploring 'unseen' Social Capital in Community Participation

Exploring 'unseen' Social Capital in Community Participation
Author: Sam Wong
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2007
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9053560343

This volume argues that using social capital to eradicate poverty is unlikely to succeed because its mainstream approach mistakenly assumes that social capital necessarily benefits poor people. The inadequacy of that assumption, Sam Wong argues, calls for a reassessment of human motivations, institutional dynamics, and the complexity of structures in social capital building. Proposing a “pro-poor” perspective, in which poverty-specific outcomes are highlighted, he suggests an exploration of “unseen” social capital is in order—not only to challenge the mainstream understanding of “seen” social capital, but to demonstrate the need for everyday cooperation, which is shaped by social norms, influenced by conscious and unconscious motivations, and subject to changes in priority based on livelihood. A useful volume for both policy makers and practitioners, Exploring ‘Unseen’ Social Capital in Community Participation offers a fresh perspective in thinking about civic and social agency.

Urban Social Capital

Urban Social Capital
Author: Gregory W. Streich
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2016-02-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317003438

This volume presents a kaleidoscopic view of the norms and forms of contemporary city life, focusing especially on the processes of social capital (de)formation in the urban milieu. It brings together studies from highly diverse urban settings, such as squatter re-settlement projects in Kathmandu, urban funeral societies in Africa, an HIV/AIDS community in Los Angeles, the poor of Harare, pensioners in Shanghai, Maori gangs in Auckland, and a Roma boxing club in Prague, among others. Contributors draw on contemporary theory and research in social capital, political economy, urban planning and policy, social movements, civil society and democracy to explore how social norms, networks, connections and ties are created, deployed - and often frayed - under conditions of social complexity, inequality, cultural pluralism, and the ethno-racial diversity and division characteristic of urban contexts throughout the world. In this way, the volume engages in a genuinely globalized - and globalizing - discussion of contemporary urban social life and stands as a unique and timely interdisciplinary contribution to the ever-expanding literature devoted to social capital.

Made in Hong Kong

Made in Hong Kong
Author: Peter E. Hamilton
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2021-01-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 0231545703

Between 1949 and 1997, Hong Kong transformed from a struggling British colonial outpost into a global financial capital. Made in Hong Kong delivers a new narrative of this metamorphosis, revealing Hong Kong both as a critical engine in the expansion and remaking of postwar global capitalism and as the linchpin of Sino-U.S. trade since the 1970s. Peter E. Hamilton explores the role of an overlooked transnational Chinese elite who fled to Hong Kong amid war and revolution. Despite losing material possessions, these industrialists, bankers, academics, and other professionals retained crucial connections to the United States. They used these relationships to enmesh themselves and Hong Kong with the U.S. through commercial ties and higher education. By the 1960s, Hong Kong had become a manufacturing powerhouse supplying American consumers, and by the 1970s it was the world’s largest sender of foreign students to American colleges and universities. Hong Kong’s reorientation toward U.S. international leadership enabled its transplanted Chinese elites to benefit from expanding American influence in Asia and positioned them to act as shepherds to China’s reengagement with global capitalism. After China’s reforms accelerated under Deng Xiaoping, Hong Kong became a crucial node for China’s export-driven development, connecting Chinese labor with the U.S. market. Analyzing untapped archival sources from around the world, this book demonstrates why we cannot understand postwar globalization, China’s economic rise, or today’s Sino-U.S. trade relationship without centering Hong Kong.

Active Social Capital

Active Social Capital
Author: Anirudh Krishna
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2002
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780231125710

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.

The Dynamics of Social Capital and Civic Engagement in Asia

The Dynamics of Social Capital and Civic Engagement in Asia
Author: Amrita Daniere
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2012-02-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1136456554

The purpose of this volume is to highlight the impacts on civic engagement of social capital, and its various component parts (trust, norms, networks and associations), in diverse parts of Asia. Addressing the pressing need for improved governance within the spatial, political and cultural realities in the rapidly transforming landscapes of Asia, the contributors to the book bring together interdisciplinary work that focuses on the ways in which civic engagement can link with social capital building. The goal of this volume is to inspire policy that recognizes that a vibrant society with access to rich stores of positive social capital requires civil society, alternate civilities and the state. The result is a dialogue on the interplay of social capital and civic engagement in socio-political contexts quite different from those found in the West. This book contributes to current discussions about the nature of social relations and their connection to politics and change and offers a unique lens into the validity of these important concepts in contemporary research across a variety of Asian settings. It will be of interest to social scientists across the board, especially those with an interest in Asia and Asian development.

Social Capital

Social Capital
Author: Nan Lin
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 489
Release: 2010
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0199565988

The volume brings together some of the leading scholars around the world working on social capital to study how individuals and groups access and use their social relations and social connections to do better in society in order to achieve their goals.

Rethinking Social Capital and Entrepreneurship in Greater China

Rethinking Social Capital and Entrepreneurship in Greater China
Author: Jenn-Hwan Wang
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2016-05-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317406400

Family networks and wider personal social relationships - guanxi - have long been held to be a significant factor making for the success of many Chinese family businesses, and guanxi is often seen as a special characteristic which shapes the nature of all business in China. This book re-examines this proposition critically, bringing together the very latest research and comparing the situation in different parts of "Greater China" – mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It considers entrepreneurship, venture capital, intergenerational succession, disputes, family businesses in different sectors of the economy, and particular family businesses. Among the book’s many interesting conclusions is the observation that guanxi capitalism has evolved in different ways in the different parts of Greater China, with the particular institutional setting having a major impact.

Economic Stress, Human Capital, and Families in Asia

Economic Stress, Human Capital, and Families in Asia
Author: Wei-Jun Jean Yeung
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2013-11-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9400773862

This book presents recent findings about the consequences and policy implications of economic stress for human capital development and family well-being in Asia. The scope of the chapters goes beyond the impact of current financial crisis to include the effect of economic deprivation families in Asia experience as a result of job loss, low-wage employment, and catastrophic natural calamities. The studies show how macro-level economic stress can filter down through households to affect individuals’ economic and socio-psychological well-being. The chapters reveal a wide spectrum of economic stresses experienced by families in Asia that is linked to poor human capital development, emotional distress, health problems, changing fertility patterns, more frequent geographic movement, and less supportive parenting behavior. The elderly, women, children, low-skilled workers are particularly vulnerable. The economic shocks in the past several decades have exposed the vulnerability of the family institution and the weaknesses in this region’s social protection system that can lead to detrimental long-term effects on human capital development. This book is relevant for researchers and students in fields such as Family Studies, Globalization, Development, Social Problems, Social Stratification, Social Inequalities, Poverty and Welfare, Education, and Social Policies.

Poverty in a Rich Society

Poverty in a Rich Society
Author: Maggie Lau
Publisher: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2017-03-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 962996788X

Hong Kong has remained a wealthy financial hub despite its exportoriented economy being adversely interrupted by the challenging global economic uncertainties and vulnerabilities that have occurred since the late 1990s. Yet, Hong Kong's income inequality is greater than that in any developed economy. The growing unequal income distribution and poverty in Hong Kong have aroused public concern. This book is a timely and important opportunity to advance the theory and practice of poverty and social exclusion measurement, and to conduct policy relevant analyses in Hong Kong. This collection was inspired by the workshop formed one key research output of the Poverty and Social Exclusion in Hong Kong (PSEHK) project funded by the Research Grants Council and the UK Economic and Social Research Council. It is hoped that this collection will inspire comparative research and policy analyses for better policy initiatives.