Dynamics Of Local Development Research Articles

Migrants in the economy of European rural and mountain areas. A cross-national investigation of their economic integration

New dynamics of local development have shed the light on the possible revitalization of European rural and mountain areas. A key element in these dynamics is the international migration fluxes that have these areas as new destinations. Newcomers' arrivals to rural and mountain areas represent both an opportunity and a challenge. They can fill in the gaps in local job markets left by the out-migration of young and the depopulation of remaining locals, but migrants' integration can present hurdles. Within the complex composition of the integration process, this research analyses the economic aspects related to local entrepreneurs' behaviours, migrant self-entrepreneurship, the role of the social economy and its effects on local communities. This paper presents results from secondary sources produced by the work of ten research teams – which collaborate on a European project MATILDE Horizon 2020 – based in as many European countries. The consortium agreed on a qualitative research approach, the use of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participatory observation for data collection, and the “Foundational Economy” as the principal theoretical framework. Then, our research team carried out data extraction and comparison. Results show the diverse features of economic integration, encompassing local economic actors’ solutions, reactions in the communities, the role of the social economy and migrant entrepreneurship.

Strategic mapping of cultural and creative industries. The case of the Veneto region

Issue and Argument: What are the real and potential boundaries of cultural enterprise? How can we restore economic value and, at the same time, cultural value through the definition of a sector that seems to have no fixed borders? This paper intends to open up a reflection on the boundaries of the cultural industry, the nature of the chosen business and how the sector can become the hub in the dynamics of local development, innovation and competitiveness within the territory of reference. The concentric circles model will be the basis for a strategic mapping of the cultural and creative sector, realized starting from the funding calls for the sector in the Italian Veneto region. The Throsby’s model is derived from the principle that cultural content is free from incorporating creative ideas into the production of goods, and that such ideas arise from the primary arts (music, theatre, dance, visual arts and literature). These make up the heart of the cultural industries, while the surrounding circles represent the ideas and influences that these creative activities radiate. The results of the strategic mapping will be put into dialogue with a new idea of entrepreneurship, which in part excludes the Core creative arts, i.e. the primary arts.

Quality Management and Sustainable Development in Local Communes – Evidence from Poland

Sustainable development is usually investigated from a global or national rather than a regional or local perspective. However, it is local communes that decide on the directions and dynamics of local development and on achieving the sustainable development goals. In the article, new insights are provided into how sustainable development can be further embedded into regional development practices by improving the management quality of local government units and through a contemporary approach to sustainable local development. The study attempts to show the relationship between the implementation of quality management methods by local governments, commune characteristics and sustainable development.

Os fatores de repercussão da cadeia produtiva do dendê no desenvolvimento local do Baixo Tocantins

O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar os fatores econômicos, sociais e ambientais produzidos pelo “agronegócio do dendê (Elaeis guianensis Jacq.)”, a partir da integração da agricultura familiar à atividade, avaliando seus efeitos sobre a dinâmica do desenvolvimento local no Baixo Tocantins. As informações foram coletadas em pesquisa de campo com os sujeitos sociais vinculados à cadeia. Os resultados revelaram que a governança da cadeia, a sustentabilidade social, a sustentabilidade ambiental, a mudança climática e a qualificação técnica são os fatores que repercutem negativamente sobre a organização do espaço econômico, social e ambiental das famílias agricultoras. Os fatores latentes identificados permitiram construir o Índice de Sustentabilidade do Desenvolvimento Local (ISDL) para avaliar o grau de influência da atividade na configuração da qualidade de vida das pessoas. O ISDL evidenciou a incapacidade do dendê de tornar-se a alternativa socioeconômica e ambiental capaz de gerar emprego, renda e melhoria na qualidade de vida das populações locais.

Cultura da inovação e racionalidade econômica no universo do pequeno empreendimento

A análise da implantação do projeto Agentes Locais de Inovação descortinou dimensões relevantes relativas à elasticidade do conceito de inovação, aos desafios do aprendizado de práticas inovadoras e aos resultados de uma intervenção qualificada no âmbito dos pequenos empreendimentos, com vistas a facilitar a sua inserção sustentável nas dinâmicas locais de desenvolvimento.

Editorial: Knowledge-based dynamics for local development – a position paper

The debate on the nature and dynamics of local development in both academic and policy circles has now moved from the earlier and then traditional focus on endogenous and context-specific assets to analysing more and more the role of the knowledge assets and their dynamics for grounding local systems’ capacity to perform sustainable development and value creation for their key-stakeholders. However, the research on this subject appears still widely open to new theoretical and empirical contributions. This position paper provides the background for this debate: specifically, we analyse – through an excursus of the issues related to the local and regional development – sometheoretical and policyreasons explaining the relevance of identifying and exploiting knowledge-based dimensions of value . The paper concludes with a call for investigating what are the new knowledge dimensions and traits to be further and better developed and managed.

Mutations territoriales et dynamiques locales : une analyse historique du cas de la “vieille ville” d'Alep (en Syrie)

Cet article examine l’évolution de la vieille ville d’Alep afin d’en dévoiler les principaux ressorts et les conséquences. Il analyse les facteurs endogènes qui, à l’époque ottomane, ont favorisé le développement des activités locales du textile et les transformations multiples intervenues au XXe siècle. De cette analyse, il ressort que les activités ancestrales d’Alep survivent aujourd’hui grâce aux différents acteurs productifs et au milieu socioculturel local.

Emergence of an environmental citizenship in Senegalese rural areas: local development initiatives by the Fannabara association in Missirah (Fatick, Senegal)

In Missirah, a village in Senegal, a group of young ecologists who are part of an association called Fannabara, developed initiatives with the objective of restoring deteriorating ecosystems and promoting local culture. Along with the many numerous to their credit, in cooperation with partners such as the IUCN and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Fannabara is trying to establish itself as a framework within which the interests of the Missirah communities can be defended. The projects undertaken are in line with a perspective that promotes public-awareness, education and actions for a sustainable development. The project is dependent on obtaining the necessary resources to meet the ecological, economic, social and cultural challenges faced in Missirah. This research shows that the decentralization and accountability context for community-level players – associated with the changes taking place in rural areas, namely as they relate to the participation of populations in the governance of biodiversity – has greatly contributed to the promotion of new local development dynamics.

Democratic Decentralization and Empowerment of Local Government Associations in Kerala

During the past decade the Indian state of Kerala has been successfully carrying out democratic decentralization, and has substantially transformed the functions of local governments in line with the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, which institutionalised the local government system in India. In particular, formulation and implementation of micro plans with community participation has produced remarkable changes in the dynamics of local development and in the public management of local governments. This initiative for participatory planning at the local level taken by the government of Kerala enormously empowered local communities and the different actors in the local political system.

The Dynamics of Local Development: From Hunger to Quality Food Cases from Northeastern Brazil

The provision of food is a critical starting point from which to understand the articulations between production and consumption locales. In research carried in Northeastern Brazil, we have found that increasingly local spaces of production and distribution of food are under tight control by external (retailer) regulations. From the choosing of plots, to land uses, to labour contracting, to cultural, environmental and packing practices, there is much evidence that food quality is an issue under view. On the other, there are widely known concerns about food safety and food security, which, in the Brazilian case, is shown through Hunger Zero – a governmental project to alleviate poverty. In this chapter, I will argue for the relevance of exploring the dynamics of food by looking at local markets, agricultural and supermarkets units, government and labour strategies, as developed in the Northeastern region. Based on case studies and related literature, the argument is that the distribution of food around the world is very much a combination of transnational corporations actions and local development strategies; and without exploring the possible contradiction here, it would not be possible to understand how packing houses, state distribution units as well as agricultural and retailer distribution units would come into the local development agenda, contributing to the making of quality food to the world's consumers. Several case studies developed by our team of researchers will illuminate the analyses.

Agriculture as an agent in building local identities : an alternative approach to urbanization of rural areas as exemplified in the Alpine corridor

Abstract : At a time when the rural world is undergoing considerable peri-urbanisation, it is tempting to consider the changes affecting peri-urban areas as simply part of the process of urban expansion. Based on an analysis of the place and functions of agriculture in the planning and development projects of the alpine corridor in the French northern alps, this article proposes an alternative way of looking at the question. We use examples to demonstrate that the renewal of agricultural functions can only be properly understood if we take into account a combination of processes associating the control of spreading urbanization, where agriculture is given the role of containing and qualifying the town, and local development dynamics, in which agricultural and non-agricultural actors attempt to direct agriculture in relation to different expectations : economic development, environmental and landscape management, identity and cultural aspects, and so on. Rural and peri-urban areas are not simply a periphery that is determined and structured by the town. To understand how these areas are evolving, it is important to examine the innovative capacity and proactive role of the actors involved.

Social Capital and Grassroots Development: The Case of Roma Self-Governance in Hungary

This study investigates the determinants of Roma local minority self-government (LMSG) capacity in Hungary and the role of Roma LMSGs in community development. Following the work of Woolcock (1998), Granovetter (1973 ; 1985) and others, we develop and operationalize a multi-dimensional framework of aggregate-level social capital to investigate factors associated with inter-municipal variation in LMSG capacity. We analyze data from a survey of Roma LMSG leaders and demonstrate that LMSGs possess higher institutional capacity in localities where the Roma population, itself, demonstrates high levels of social cohesion ; where Roma-majority social networks are characterized by norms of trust and cooperation ; and where the local Roma government has effective institutional linkages with extra-local organizations. This study is relevant to broader questions of institutional impacts on minority-majority relations, community-level social network resources, and how the dynamics of local development in the post-socialist context are shaped by local social logics embedded within broader social and historical processes