Regional Social Capital: Why it Matters

MALECKI E. J. Regional social capital: why it matters, Regional Studies. Social capital refers to a culture of interaction among people, with productive economic outcomes. Social capital promotes regional learning both within a region and beyond, as it reinforces openness to the ideas of others. Regional cultures vary in the degree to which people - individually and within their organizations - trust and interact with one another, which is why regional outcomes vary. Innovation, learning and entrepreneurship - key processes of regional development - take place largely within and among people as members of companies and territorial organizations. Innovative milieus, industrial districts and knowledge economies are among the regions with extraordinary pools of social capital.