SOCICULTKNOW · Social and cultural knowledge as a resource for knowledge-based development of the European periphery: evidence from Portugal and Croatia

Social and cultural knowledge as a resource for knowledge-based development of the European periphery: evidence from Portugal and Croatia

The main goal of the project was to study the spatial context assisting or hindering the European periphery in its development towards a "knowledge society". Why are spatial disparities of development in contemporary Europe rebuilt time and time again? What particular elements of the economic, social and cultural spatial context contribute to the persistence of development drawbacks in peripheral countries and regions? Based on the extensive analysis of available literature, statistics, expert opinions and the researcher's own observations, four hypotheses were formulated and tested against the empirical material collected in Portugal and Croatia, two peripheral European countries chosen as case studies. According to these hypotheses, the obstacles to development were sought in the areas of the economy, human capital, social capital and the cultural context respectively. In the economic realm, globalisation makes it increasingly difficult for European peripheral countries to sustain international competitiveness. In order to foster development in the long term they need to constantly increase the share of knowledge-intensive products and services as these have a higher value-added and thus lead to a higher income and higher productivity. Qualified human resources are also indispensable for successful knowledge-based development. But beyond providing education adequate employment needs to be created for newly qualified workers, otherwise human capital may be wasted. Easing the barriers for inward migration of highly skilled professionals can help when fertility rates are very low. In both countries, the levels of social capital are very low, and the structure of power relations among various development stakeholders is firmly rooted in the past times. Power is distributed highly unequally: the state is seen as the supreme authority in charge of everything, while most citisens believe their opinion does not matter for policy-making. It is necessary to break this self-reinforcing circle, when disempowered citisens help perpetuate the situation by not willing to assume any responsibility for governance. Introducing participatory methods of governance, especially at the regional and local level, can help and would also increase trust in these societies. The cultural context, formed by prevalent value orientations and common behaviour patterns, is another important factor. Certain cultural preferences such as high power distance in organisations, flexible interpretation of commitments, exclusionist attitudes towards "outsiders", preference of loyalty over merit, lack of initiative and conservatism can negatively affect development. It is necessary to change such unproductive attitudes in the society. Equally useful would be overcoming the psychological complex of periphericity which causes a disbelief in the possibility of any progress. The situation was found to be very similar in Portugal and Croatia on all four dimensions analysed, which confirms that the main causes of developmental problems are common to the (socio-economic) periphery. In Croatia, the crucial contemporary development drawbacks probably reflect the periphericity which by far predates the socialist period. The project findings have significant implications for citisens, policy-makers and anyone interested in the problems of development of the European periphery. They highlight the importance of the social and cultural context for development, which still remains on the margins of the developmental debate that is mainly focused on economic and, more recently, also educational issues. The detailed analysis of this topic can be found in the publications resulting from the project. All information on the already available and new publications and public presentations of the project findings is presented on the project website that will be maintained beyond the end of the project (http://tercud. ulusofona. pt/projectos/ProjSocicultknow/SociocultknowEN. htm)

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