Ebook: Social Capital in the Knowledge Economy: Theory and Empirics

It is possible that there once was a time when scholars used to sit isolated with their cogitations in their attics, emerging now and then to publish their latest e- dite offerings which no one had ever thought of before. If such a time did once - ist, it certainly does so no longer. Writing a scientific or scholarly book in our era is to a large extent a team effort in which your team members are continually changing and you are unceasingly grateful for the privilege of enjoying and be- fiting from the exertions, ideas, comments and support of a large number of very able people. Scientific and scholarly work nowadays is a process impossible wi- out the existence and use of social capital. This book is no exception to the above stated. There are very many colleagues (some of them referees and thus anonymous) and friends who have made the book possible. The foremost of these is Roger Bolton, with whom I wrote my first paper on social capital. Most of that paper has found its way into various passages of this book, while Chapter 6, Social Capital and Entrepreneurship, comes almost c- pletely from Roger's pen. Thank you, Roger, for letting me use your text! The empirical studies of the biotech industries of Japan, California and Sweden would have been impossible without a great deal of help.

---

This book analyzes the social capital of the growing knowledge economy, from both theoretical and empirical points of view.

The theoretical section discusses social capital as an economic concept, its relation to traditional capital theory and its role as a spatial externality. The author develops a theory of the social capital of the enterprise, and analyzes the importance of social capital to entrepreneurship, innovation and regional development.

The empirical part compares central aspects of the social capital of three different socio-economic systems: the US, Japan and Sweden, with particular attention to labor market relations, innovation systems and the civil societies. The social capital of the knowledge intensive biotech industries of the three countries is studied and compared. The book concludes with discussion of a number of issues for further research.

---

This book analyzes the social capital of the growing knowledge economy, from both theoretical and empirical points of view.

The theoretical section discusses social capital as an economic concept, its relation to traditional capital theory and its role as a spatial externality. The author develops a theory of the social capital of the enterprise, and analyzes the importance of social capital to entrepreneurship, innovation and regional development.

The empirical part compares central aspects of the social capital of three different socio-economic systems: the US, Japan and Sweden, with particular attention to labor market relations, innovation systems and the civil societies. The social capital of the knowledge intensive biotech industries of the three countries is studied and compared. The book concludes with discussion of a number of issues for further research.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-X
Introduction....Pages 1-12
Social Capital as an Economic Concept....Pages 13-25
Social Capital as Capital in the Economic Sense....Pages 27-38
Social Capital as a Spatial Externality....Pages 39-50
The Social Capital of the Enterprise....Pages 51-63
Social Capital and Entrepreneurship....Pages 65-86
Social Capital and Innovation: Actors and Policies....Pages 87-101
Why Compare Sweden, Japan and USA/California?....Pages 103-107
Social Capital Expressed in the Form of Labor Market Relations....Pages 109-116
Social Capital and Institutions for Growth, Innovation and Renewal....Pages 117-135
Civil Society’s Social Capital....Pages 137-147
The Knowledge-Intensive Biotech Industry: Structures and Policies....Pages 149-163
The Biotech Industry’s Social Capital: An Empirical Study....Pages 165-179
Some Forward Looking Comments....Pages 181-190
Back Matter....Pages 191-212

---

This book analyzes the social capital of the growing knowledge economy, from both theoretical and empirical points of view.

The theoretical section discusses social capital as an economic concept, its relation to traditional capital theory and its role as a spatial externality. The author develops a theory of the social capital of the enterprise, and analyzes the importance of social capital to entrepreneurship, innovation and regional development.

The empirical part compares central aspects of the social capital of three different socio-economic systems: the US, Japan and Sweden, with particular attention to labor market relations, innovation systems and the civil societies. The social capital of the knowledge intensive biotech industries of the three countries is studied and compared. The book concludes with discussion of a number of issues for further research.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-X
Introduction....Pages 1-12
Social Capital as an Economic Concept....Pages 13-25
Social Capital as Capital in the Economic Sense....Pages 27-38
Social Capital as a Spatial Externality....Pages 39-50
The Social Capital of the Enterprise....Pages 51-63
Social Capital and Entrepreneurship....Pages 65-86
Social Capital and Innovation: Actors and Policies....Pages 87-101
Why Compare Sweden, Japan and USA/California?....Pages 103-107
Social Capital Expressed in the Form of Labor Market Relations....Pages 109-116
Social Capital and Institutions for Growth, Innovation and Renewal....Pages 117-135
Civil Society’s Social Capital....Pages 137-147
The Knowledge-Intensive Biotech Industry: Structures and Policies....Pages 149-163
The Biotech Industry’s Social Capital: An Empirical Study....Pages 165-179
Some Forward Looking Comments....Pages 181-190
Back Matter....Pages 191-212
....