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7he Japanese economy iis now at the crucial crossroads. The post-war policy of export-led, high-investment growth has resulted in a set of serious distortions and tensions both inside and outside of Japan. Domestically, the problems are inflation, paucity of social capital and social services, and environmental decay. The 1970 Economic White Paper prepared by Japan's Economic Planning Agency declared that the Japanese economy in the 1970s must strive for balance and harmony in the growth process. Specifically, it recommended that Japan move toward increasing the welfare of its citizens. The fruits of economic growth must be used positively for the construction of a truly affluent society with adequate provision of social services that enhance the quality of life. The White Paper further stated that the Japanese economy must become truly integrated with the world economy. It deplored the continued existence of protectionism in Japan, and recommended that the programs of further liberalization of imports and capital flows be pursued more vigorously.1 Prosperity of any nation today depends heavily on achieving and maintaining an economically harmonious relationship with the rest of the world. Because of Japan's paucity in natural resources, its reliance on other nations is especially high. It is an indisputable fact that for prosperity and even for survival, Japan needs foreign raw materials and foreign markets for its products. It is estimated that by 1975 more than 50% of almost all of its raw-material needs will have to be met with imports. The import de. pendency ratios will be 80% for copper, 90% for iron and coal, and 100% for petroleum, nickel and aluminum.2 In order to pay for the imported materials, Japan must export its products. Japan therefore cannot afford to lose its overseas markets, especially the important U.S. markets, to protectionism. This is the fundamental fact of the Japanese economic life.

Metadata only record This paper stresses the importance of the relationship between organizations or groups that have weak ties. While most research is done on models of strong ties, this paper claims that weak ties are often overlooked. This paper presents an analysis tool for assessment of ties between groups and other social structures.

It is not possible, nor indeed desirable, to attempt a full factual description of the history and operation of regional policy in Britain in this paper. The paper begins with statements of the main problems which have necessitated regional policy. It then moves on to an analysis of the objectives and some of the main issues of regional policy in the United Kingdom and concludes with a discussion of the relationship between national and regional economic planning. This subject is treated at some length because the organisers of the conference wished us to do so, and because it is an issue which is central to both national and regional economic policies in the United Kingdom at the present time.

This paper takes as its starting point the need for community level action as an immediate step toward 'Closing the Gaps'. The focus is on local employment initiatives underpinned by a broader approach to community development. New Zealand case studies are used to illustrate. The paper examines the development and refinement of an alternative framework - positive spirals of ‘societal capital’. This is differentiated from the concept of social capital. The role of the Community Advisor is also discussed. Lessons are drawn for the future.

In many countries, the allocation of public funds among regions to promote the social capital formation in each regional unit is becoming one of the most important decisions by the central government. In spite of the significance of this problem, however, there is scarcely any definite guiding principle for the efficient regional allocation of public investment even in a theoretical sense. The causes of this may be explained as follows.

The purposes of this paper are twofold. Firstly, an attempt is made to formulate a theoretical model in which social overhead capital plays a significant role in the processes of resource allocation and in which the distribution of real income is affected by the manner in which the use of such social overhead capital is regulated. Secondly, the pattern of investment in social overhead capital which results in an optimum path of economic growth is examined within the framework of the Ramsey [1] theory of optimum growth.

Social capital has recently emerged as an important interdisciplinary research area. It is frequently used as a framework for understanding various social issues in temporal communities, neighbourhoods and groups. In particular, researchers in the social sciences and the humanities have used social capital to understand trust, shared understanding, reciprocal relationships, social network structures, common norms and cooperation, and the roles these entities play in various aspects of temporal communities. Despite proliferation of research in this area, little work has been done to extend this effort to technology-driven learning communities (also known as virtual learning communities). This paper surveys key interdisciplinary research areas in social capital. It also explores how the notions of social capital and trust can be extended to virtual communities, including virtual learning communities and distributed communities of practice. Research issues surrounding social capital and trust as they relate to technology-driven learning communities are identified.

The Pathways to Sustainable Employment (PAS£) research programme is a five-year programme aimed at determining the supply-side and demand-side parameters of employment-seeking and career development of New Zealanders aged 15-34, and developing policy implications. In an initial phase of the project, 866 participants sampled from four geographical areas and representative of different age, gender, and ethnic groups took part in a Computer Aided Telephone Interview (CAT/) concerning their employment experiences to date and their aspirations for the future. This paper reports on the experiences of participants in respect of seeking and finding their current job, their last job, and their first job and the role social networks play in supporting career decision making. The data, which demonstrate the key role that social capital plays in these regards, raises issues about such things as the expertise of network members, their objective understanding of others' capacities and interests, and their knowledge of the labour market. We suggest that the importance of social capital is underestimated and policy makers could do well to take this into account when considering developing strategies for sustainable employment.