Capital Debate Research Articles

Agricultural Revolution and Elite Reproduction in Qing China: The Transition to Capitalism Debate Revisited

Recent actor-centric theory about the historical rise of capitalism emphasizes the role of the autonomous agrarian elite in fostering a sustained agricultural revolution. This revolution generated ample agrarian surplus, in the form of rural elite's elevated income, to fuel a capitalist-industrial takeoff in late-eighteenth-century England. The nontransition to capitalism in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century China, despite the vast surplus generated in its advanced agrarian sector, shows that high agricultural productivity is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a capitalist takeoff. By comparing Qing China with eighteenth-century England, where capitalist industrialization erupted spontaneously, and nineteenth-century Japan, where capitalist industrialization succeeded under intensive state sponsorship, this article argues that a strong urban entrepreneurial elite, capable of centralizing the agrarian surplus and investing it in productive industrial innovation, were as important as the existence of the surplus itself in fomenting capitalist transition. The reproduction of the elite in eighteenth-century China was constrained, not by the anticommercial “oriental despotic” state as presumed in earlier literature, but by the state's paternalist disposition in managing urban class conflict. Capitalist-industrial development in China was further impeded in the nineteenth century, when a nexus of local predatory-military elite emerged in response to millenarian uprisings and wasted most of the agrarian surplus in their accumulation of means of violence. The negative case of China helps us advance the actor-centric model of capitalist transition by bringing urban entrepreneurs and class politics back in.

60SOX: An Experiment in Building Digital Literacies for Emerging Professionals in the Digital Content Industries

What are the education-to-work transition experiences of graduate creative professionals in a time when user-generated content is radically changing the organisations in which they will work? 60Sox is an online creative ecology for these emerging professionals that attempts to answer this question, in the process of showcasing and developing their creative and generic career capacities. We report here on the development and operation of 60Sox.org.au , and argue for its significance in terms of: (1) the centrality of human capital arguments in the operation of the creative economy; (2) the importance of ‘creative ecologies’ as an emerging business concept, particularly in the digital industries; (3) the arrival of online and peer-to-peer (p2p) architecture as a changing distribution mode within the digital content industries; (4) the related importance of pro-am creativity; and (5) the recognition of skill shortages and training requirements in Australia's digital content industries.

The Effect of Social Capital on White, Korean, Mexican and Black Business Owners’ Earnings in the US

Previous research on ethnic entrepreneurship suggests that social capital facilitates enterprise. This study considers how social capital affects ethnic entrepreneurs’ economic success. Using the non-public Characteristics of Business Owners Survey, I examine the earnings-returns of four groups with disparate rates of business ownership in the United States: non-Hispanic Whites, Koreans, Mexicans and Blacks. Traditional sociological approaches rooted in social capital arguments emphasise the primacy of group membership in facilitating entrepreneurial participation, which is associated with economic success. My findings suggest that social capital facilitates entrepreneurial participation; however, it is human and market capital that are essential for economic success. Furthermore, I find that social capital sometimes has a detrimental effect on earnings. The article underscores the crucial role of human and market capital and the limits of social capital in facilitating entrepreneurs’ economic success.

Desiring a Coherent China

Desiring a Coherent China

Social Capital Put to the Test

AbstractThis article offers a critical review and mapping of theoretical elaborations of the social capital concept and of some of the key empirical projects which in their various ways have attempted to capture and measure social capital. In so doing, it maps the rise and rise of social capital within the social sciences and beyond. It then considers a range of hypotheses which have attempted to explain the ever increasing prominence and reach of the concept. To understand this reach, the article suggests that we must look beyond the theoretical, methodological and empirical technicalities of the social capital debates and cast our eyes to a fundamental rewriting and reworking of the social field.

‘Don’t Know Much About History…’: Revisiting the Impact of Curriculum on Subsequent Labour Market Outcomes

Regression and neural network models of wage determination are constructed where the explanatory variables include detailed information about the impact of school curricula on future earnings. It is established that there are strong non-linearities and interaction effects present in the relationship between curriculum and earnings. The results have important implications in the context of the human capital vs. signalling and screening debate. They also throw light on contemporary policy issues concerning the desirability of breadth vs. depth in the school curriculum.

Presidential address The Ideological and Economic Repositioning of Universities

A reconceptualization of the human capital value of education as a private good, linked to a market oriented commodification of university knowledge, underpins a repositioning of universities as entrepreneurial enterprises. The implications for universities and the professoriate are explored, with a particular emphasis on the ways in which the institutions and work within them are being redefined. Canadian and Australian experiences are drawn upon. Une nouvelle conceptualisation de la valeur du capital humain en enseignement comme un bien privé, relié au savoir universitaire comme des marchandises destinées au marché, étaie une repositionnement des universités comme des entreprises commerciales. L'auteur explore les implications pour les universités et le corps professoral, avec une emphase particulière sur les façons dont les institutions et leurs travaux se redéfinissent. L'auteur se sert des expériences canadiennes et australiennes.

Social Capital: Analysing the Effect of a Political Perspective on the Perceived Role of Government in Community Prosperity

Social capital has enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years, however debate continues over the concept in policy and community renewal strategies. This paper explores how different interpretations of the concept may affect the role that government is perceived to have in developing ‘social capital’. Empirical research findings are used to explore the relevance of different social capital interpretations to the role of government in rural prosperity. The paper argues that the current dominant interpretation obscures the role that government can play in generating community prosperity. Additionally, this paper argues that the dominant interpretation of the concept does not acknowledge the effect that government actions may have on social networks and, therefore, social and economic outcomes. The paper comments on the implications of different social capital interpretations for policy development focused on the social and economic sustainability of rural Australia. It concludes that the political context of the use of social capital affects how it is interpreted. Further, the interpretation utilised affects government policy responses to the renewal of rural communities, a factor largely unrecognised in social capital debates.

Accounting for firms' training programs: an exploratory study

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse two competing approaches to accounting for a firm's investment in staff‐training activities: the accounting and labour economics approach (which argues that no asset should be recognized from training activity); and the human resources management approach (which advocates recognition of an asset).Design/methodology/approachA case study analysis was conducted in two large Portuguese companies where human capital is said to be a critical factor of firm success. The authors used document analysis and interviews to help understand the training phenomenon from a company's point of view. This meant knowing of motivations, training programme curricula, training practices and expected benefits of training.FindingsThe paper identifies and defines two situations concerning a firm's investment in human capital training: one, where no asset (value) is generated; and the other, where the accounting definition of an asset, requiring value generation, is satisfied.Research limitations/implicationsCase studies possess the strength of specific instance detail and interpretation, and the ostensible weakness of interpretation of a small sample. But such research can provide for a reframing of conceptual perspectives. They can stimulate additional efforts to improve accounting and financial reporting.Practical implicationsA guideline system for firm investment in training was developed. This system allows different accounting treatments of a firm's investment in training activity. It proceeds on the basis of perceptions of whether training activity undertaken by a firm generates, or does not generate, value.Originality/valueThis paper provides a much‐needed case‐based empirical analysis of accounting and human capital arguments, and asset recognition arguments. It clarifies the situations in which an asset should be regarded as being generated by training expenditure.

Reconsidering the Effects of Bonding Social Capital: A Closer Look at Black Civil Society Institutions in America

Few studies consider how Putnam’s bridging and bonding social capital arguments apply to voluntary associations within American minority group communities. Consequently, I examine African-American civic groups to explore Putnam’s claims about the potential negative political effects of bonding social capital. In contrast to the bonding social capital thesis, I argue that black communal associations encourage African-Americans to be involved in a variety of mainstream civic and political activities that reach beyond their own group interests. Using the 1993–1994 National Black Politics Study I demonstrate that although black organizations are predominantly composed of African-Americans and work to advance their interests, these goals are not pursued at the expense of connecting blacks to others in the general polity.

Female Political Leadership in India

This paper is a recognition and exploration of alternative accounts of female political leadership in India, other than dynastic succession. It explores the varied paths to power which female political leaders in India have followed in the past two decades within the changing institutional environment of electoral politics. The paper argues that gender is an important factor of the path to power as well as the exercise of leadership and the sources of legitimacy that leaders draw upon. The paper critiques essentialised accounts of behavioural styles of gendered leadership, focusing on the moral capital argument. Structural gender bias and gender-biased perceptions and expectations are understood to have a significant impact on assessments of behavioural style and performance. Yet these sources of gender power can be utilised by leaders, reinforcing and legitimising stereotypes in exchange for political power. These insights are applied to the cases of three prominent female political leaders in India.

Are Canadian CEOs Compensated for International Responsibilities?

Relying on proprietary Canadian data, we determine a positive relationship between the level of Canadian CEO compensation and the existence of significant international components among a CEO’s array of responsibilities. Our findings are consistent with agency and human capital theoretical arguments. Results imply that executive pay premiums should be anticipated and budgeted for in the planning and implementation of international ventures.

Debates

While the economic potential of privatizing small‐scale properties in impoverished urban areas of the developing world is receiving a good deal of attention, in reality the potential only applies to a segment of the urban poor. ‘Informally occupied property’, instead of existing as a category, in reality operates as a broad continuum of tenure security. Toward the secure end informal occupation can contain the ingredients that facilitate titling and access to capital via title. But toward the other end, acute tenure insecurity meshes with severe forms of personal, food and livelihood insecurity. This paper discusses the relevancy of the poverty–property rights–capital argument to the segment of the urban poor that is acutely tenure insecure.

Varieties of capitalism: the importance of political and social choices

This paper examines the influential Varieties of Capitalism argument (Hall and Soskice 2001) that economies tend to one of two forms of capitalism - liberal market and coordinated market economies - with different employment policies being conducive to economic success in each. An analysis of the relationship between financial and labour market systems suggests that the links between the two operate in a less deterministic way than is suggested by Hall and Soskice. This suggests that industrial relations actors are not prisoners of coordinated or liberal systems, and that ‘political’ choice retains a significant role in changes to employment systems.

Transport, mobility and social capital in developing countries

The World Bank defines social capital as the institutions, relationships and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society's social interactions. Social capital is a multi-faceted concept that implies emotional attachments to relatives and friends as well as interactions between people. Existing studies of transport and its impact on the rural poor in developing countries focus largely on its role in the process of economic growth, by increasing the productive capacity and market accessibility of small-scale farmers through investment in infrastructure and transport services. Few researchers have investigated the role that transport plays in providing access to and maintenance of valuable social networks. Social capital provides a catalyst for sustainable mobility and service delivery in the absence of conventionally measured economic benefits. Without the social capital argument the reasons for maintaining rural transport infrastructure and services remain weak. Access to social capital networks requires mobility, and transport is the agency by which social capital networks are supported. Mobility is essential to the sustainability of social networks yet, to date, existing literature disregards the means by which people physically access social capital, whether through associations and community groups or simply maintaining rural–urban linkages with extended family members. This paper draws on empirical evidence from Kenya to review the relationship between transport mobility and social capital and its relevance for rural development. It examines the significance of transport in accounting for the extent of social interaction and the way that transport interventions enable the poor to access, and be included in, social capital networks.

Leisure, social capital and civic competence

Initial enthusiasm over social capital—since the mid‐1990s among the most widely debated concepts in social science—is being tempered by increasing criticism. With some exceptions, this development is not reflected in discussions of leisure and social capital, which remain dominated by Putnam's early formulation of social capital as a combination of cultural norms, generalized trust, social networks. After what may be called the psychological and cultural turns in leisure research, it is not surprising that leisure researchers found Putnam's early formulation attractive. Their continued reliance on it is problematic, however, especially since criticism of its conceptual weaknesses has led Putnam to shift his ground. He now locates the sources of social capital in social networks, not cultural norms. Putnam's shifts reflect central themes in the wider transdisciplinary social capital debate, little awareness of which appears in leisure research. These themes require attention if the relationships among leisure, social capital, and community development are to be clarified. Until then, social capital's value in leisure research remains heuristic rather than explanatory. Social capital illustrates the need for rigorous conceptual and theoretical analysis, directs attention to the significance of social structure, and raises questions about the purposes of leisure research, including its relevance to social policy and action. Ultimately, social capital challenges the field to pursue truly transdisciplinary inquiry, as an excursion into the relationships among leisure, social capital, a resource model of citizenship, and civic competence is intended to illustrate.

“A Capital and Novel Argument”: Charles Darwin's Notebooks and the Productivity of Rhetorical Consciousness

With the rise of poststructuralist critiques of the autonomous subject, attention has shifted from the nature of “intentional persuasion” to the constitutive nature of discourse. Although this turn has led to valuable new insights into the nature of rhetoric, it also threatens to discount one of the most vital contributions of the rhetorical tradition—the nature of rhetorical invention. This essay seeks to recover the notion of invention by drawing from John Dewey's naturalistic interpretation of experience. In Dewey's framework, “consciousness” is neither the private contents of thought nor a point of articulation for social discourse, but a practice of manipulating public meanings as a means of responding to problematic situations. I then use Dewey's notion to advance the concept of a “rhetorical consciousness,” which I define in terms of the sophistical principles of imitatio and dissoi logoi. To demonstrate the pragmatic significance of this concept, I then show, through an analysis of Charles Darwin's notebooks, how Darwin employed his own rhetorical consciousness within his struggle to invent the revolutionary arguments that led up to his publication of On the Origin of Species. My hope is that this naturalistic interpretation of rhetorical invention will contribute to the ongoing project of cultivating a more intelligent, critical, and creative citizenry through the application of classical rhetorical principles to contemporary democratic forms of education in both the arts and sciences.

Resource Allocation in Households with Women as Chief Wage Earners

Resource theory and the human capital argument remain the dominant theoretical perspectives for understanding household choice. Yet households in which wives earn more than their husbands do not reflect either one, possibly due to the assumption in these perspectives that all resources are pooled. Two studies investigated household resource allocation. The first found that when the woman was the chief wage earner, joint pools of money were used to cover routine expenses but separate pools were also used for several reasons. The second study investigated the apparent differences in wife-as-chief-earner households and husband-as-chief-earner households and found support for the results of the first.

Entrepreneur opportunity costs and intended venture growth

This study investigates how entrepreneur opportunity costs influence the intended future size of new ventures. In particular, using a survey of nascent entrepreneurs in the process of starting a venture, this paper examines how intended future sales revenue is influenced by entrepreneur current household income, education, and managerial experience. Consistent with opportunity cost and human capital arguments, it is found that individuals with higher current household income and greater supervisory experience have higher levels of intended firm size in 5 years time. While this study finds that entrepreneur stated preferences for growth also influence intended future sales of the venture, the association between nascent entrepreneur opportunity costs and venture scale is complementary to these stated preferences.

Social capital

Within the social sciences the widespread impact of the social capital concept has prompted strong critique on the part of feminists, for it is a concept which appears to reinstate a version of social worlds which for the past thirty years or more feminist social scientists have sought to problematize and move beyond. Yet do these critiques go beyond the social capital paradigm? It is the contention of this article that they do not and in particular that such critiques fail to problematize the association of women with collective social goods found in the social capital literature. It will be suggested further that this association relates to the use of a dualism of instrumentality versus freedom, whereby women are overwhelmingly associated with the latter. This article therefore delineates a gendered subtext operative within the social capital debates. Recognition of this subtext should lead feminists to disengage with the social capital concept, for this is a concept whose use will always trap women in the social-historical time of industrial society.