Abstract
Social capital not only forms and functions at the individual, group, and organizational levels, but also permeates and transcends the political and geographic boundaries of nation-states. This paper examines transnational ethnic social networks based on ancestral and kinship ties as a form of social capital that facilitates economic growth and transformation in a transborder subregional context. Transnational ethnic social capital works by gluing multiple economic actors on opposite sides of a border together and by lubricating economic transactions among them. When purposefully mobilized by government policies, transnational ethnic social capital in turn induces more responsive and efficient policy initiatives and implementation. This paper also considers whether ethnic social capital is both a necessary and sufficient condition for successful transnational subregionalism by demonstrating its interaction with certain crucial complementary or contradictory factors.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Chen, S. (2000). ‘Surpassing Shenzhen and catching up with Shanghai: The miracle of Taiwan businesses in Dongguan’(in Chinese), Sinorama Magazine,pp. 1–12 (http://magazines.sinanet.com/sinorama/contents).
Chen, X. (1995). ‘The evolution of free economic zones and the recent development of crossnational growth zones,’ International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 19 (4), 593–621.
Chen, X. (1996). ‘Taiwan investments in China and Southeast Asia:“Go West but also go South,”’Asian Survey XXXVI (5), 447–467.
Chen, X. (1998). ‘China’s growing integration with the Asia-Pacific Economy’ in A. Dirlik, ed., What Is in a Rim? Critical Perspectives on the Pacific Region Idea. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, pp. 187–217.
Coleman, J. S. (1990). Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Cumings, B. (1998). ‘The Northeast Asian political economy,’in A. Dirlik, ed., What Is in a Rim? Critical Perspectives on the Pacific Region Idea. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, pp. 99–141.
Duara, P. (1997). ‘Nationalists among transnationals: Overseas Chinese and the idea of China, 1900–1911’ in A. Ong and D. M. Nonini, eds., Ungrounded Empires: The Cultural Politics of Modern Chinese Transnationalism. New York and London: Routledge, pp. 39–60.
Foster, K. A. (1998). ‘Regional capital,’a paper presented at the Workshop on Interdependence of Central Cities and Suburbs: Current Knowledge and New Research and Policy Direction, co-organized by the Great Cities Institute, the Brookings Institution, and the Lincoln Land Institute, Chicago, September 24–26.
Gabbay, S. M. and A. J. Stein (1997). ‘Embedding social structure in technological infrastructure: Constructing regional social capital for a sustainable peace in the Middle East,’unpublished manuscript.
Hoon, S. J. (1999). ‘A crack in the wall,’ Far Eastern Economic Review, 10–14.
Hsing,Y.-T. (1997). ‘Building Guanxi across the straits: Taiwanese capital and local Chinese bureaucrats,’ in A. Ong and D. M. Nonini, eds., Ungrounded Empires: The Cultural Politics of Modern Chinese Transnationalism. New York and London: Routledge, pp. 143–164.
Hsing, Y.-T. (1998). Making Capitalism in China: The Taiwan Connection. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kohut, J. and A. T. Cheng (1996). ‘Return of the merchant mandarins,’Asia, Inc.,22–31.
Leung, C. K. (1993). ‘Personal contacts, subcontracting linkages, and development in the Hong Kong-Zhujiang delta region,’Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83 (2), 272–302.
Li, Y. and G. Wu (1998). ‘The role of Korean Chinese in the peace and development of Northeast Asia’(in Chinese), in Z. Liu and S. Wang, eds., Peace and Development in Northeast Asia.Jilin: Jilin University Press, pp. 55–66.
Liao, D. M. (1999). ‘Leader of the pack,’ The China Business Review, 28–36.
Mainland Affairs Council (1998). Monthly Statistics of Cross-Strait Economic Activities 65, 1–68.
Mainland Affairs Council (1999). Monthly Statistics of Cross-Strait Economic Activities 84, 1–61.
Mattli, W. (1999). The Logic of Regional Integration: Europe and beyond. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Neace, M. B. (1999). ‘Entrepreneurs in emerging economies: Creating trust, social capital, and civil society,’Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 565, 148–161.
Peng, S. and D. Yan, eds. (1994). A Guide for Trade and Economic Cooperation Between China and South Korea On Chinese). Tianjin: Tianjin People’s Press.
Portes, A. (1998). ‘Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology,’ Annual Review of Sociology 24, 1–24.
Putnam, R. D., R. Leonardi and R. Y. Nanetti (1993). Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Serageldin, I. and Ch. Grootaert (2000). ‘Defining social capital: An integrating view,’ in P. Dasgupta and I. Serageldin, eds., Social Capital: A Multifaceted Perspective. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, pp. 40–58.
Smart, J. and A. Smart (1991). ‘Personal relations and divergent economies: A case study of Hong Kong investment in South China,’ International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 15, 216–233.
Smart, J. and A. Smart (1993). ‘Obligation and control: Employment of kin in capitalist labor management in China,’Critique of Anthropology 13 (1), 7–31.
Smart, A. (1993). ‘The political economy of rent-seeking in a Chinese factory town,’ Anthropology of Work Review XIV (2 and 3), 15–19.
Stiglitz, J. E. (2000). ‘Formal and informal institutions,’ in P. Dasgupta and I. Serageldin, eds., Social Capital: A Multifaceted Perspective. Washington, DC: World Bank, pp. 59–68.
Wank, D. (1998). ‘Embedding greater China: Kin, friends, and ancestors in overseas Chinese investment networks,’ a paper presented at the International Conference on ‘City, State and Region in a Global Order: Toward the 21st Century,’ Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan, December 19–20.
Warner, M. (1999). ‘Social capital construction and the role of the local state,’ Rural Sociology 64, 373–393.
Williams, J. H., D. von Hippel and P. Hayes (2000). ‘Fuel and famine: Rural energy crisis in the democratic People’s Republic of Korea,’Policy Paper No. 46, The Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, March.
Woolcock, M. (1998).‘Social capital and economic development: Toward a theoretical synthesis and policy framework,’Theory and Society 27, 151–208.
World Bank (1997). China Engaged: Integration with the Global Economy. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Yun, K. (1989). ‘Crossing the Yellow Sea,’ The China Business Review 16 (1), 38–42.
Zang, S. (1999). ‘A special plan: Taiwan’s economic miracle on the shore of the pearl river’ (in Chinese), Global Views Magazine, 1–18 (http://magazines.sinanet.com/globalview/contents).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chen, X. (2001). Both glue and lubricant: Transnational ethnic social capital as a source of Asia-Pacific subregionalism. In: Montgomery, J.D., Inkeles, A. (eds) Social Capital as a Policy Resource. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6531-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6531-1_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-4871-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-6531-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive