Exploring 'unseen' social capital in community participation : : everyday lives of poor mainland Chinese migrants in Hong Kong / / Sam Wong.

• Superior document: ICAS publications series. Monographs ; 2
• Author: International Convention of Asia Scholars.; Wong, Sam.
• TeilnehmendeR: International Convention of Asia Scholars.
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: ICAS publications series. Monographs ; 2.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (219 pages) :; digital, PDF file(s).
• Notes: Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 15 Jan 2021).

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.

Table of Contents

Front matter -- Summary contents -- Detailed contents -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- 1. Building a ,Pro-Poor' Social Capital Framework -- 2. Ethnography - Alternative Research Methodology -- 3. Historical and Cultural Contexts of Mainland Chinese Migrants in Hong Kong -- 4. Investing in Social Capital? - Considering the Paradoxes of Agency in Social Exchange -- 5. ,Getting the Social Relations Right'? - Understanding Institutional Plurality and Dynamics -- 6. Rethinking Authority and Power in the Structures of Relations -- 7. Conclusions and Policy Implications -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Annex 1 -- Annex 2 -- Index