How does social capital emerge in Hong Kong community centers?

: a meso-level approach

Abstract

The notion of social capital, in spite of wide academic and popular recognition, continues to be a contested concept. Scholarly debate regarding the adequate methodology and the appropriate level of analysis for the study of social capital continues to waver between the individual and the collective approach. By introducing community centers in Hong Kong as meso-level locus of analysis, this study seeks to address the need for a theoretically appropriate framework for the study of social capital - bridging the macro, and micro-levels of analysis. This study utilizes Migdal’s state in society approach as a framework in order to introduce a meso-level of analysis, which allows for the conceptualization of individual actors in society as nested in arenas. Utilizing a mixed methods approach - which has not been used for conducting social capital research in Hong Kong before - this study will attempt to gain a greater understanding about the dynamics of social capital formation in this context.

Date of Award	15 Jul 2013
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Brian BREWER (Supervisor)