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Led by larger urban municipalities, the current municipal reform agenda in Canada places considerable emphasis on the issue of local autonomy. This article looks at how this agenda might affect smaller rural municipalities, since the assumption seems to be that one can simply re-size and re-shape policy prescriptions from urban and suburban contexts to fit rural areas. Drawing on the lessons learned from an eight-year project titled 'Understanding the New Rural Economy: Options and Choices,' the authors argue that autonomy is only valuable in relation to a locality's capacity to take advantage of new powers and that rural capacities are very different from those of their urban counterparts. The authors present a conceptual framework in which capacity is a dynamic and multidimensional entity of which autonomy is a necessary, though not sufficient, condition. This framework is then employed to explore four rural Canadian municipalities. This study is the first to consider traditional administrative reforms in a rural context. Employing a case-study methodology, the authors found four dimensions of capacity that may support changes to local autonomy: strategic planning, citizen participation and support, expertise, and access to revenues. Dirige par les plus grandes municipalites urbaines, le programme actuel des reformes municipales au Canada met une emphase considerable sur la question de l'autonomie locale. Le present article porte sur la maniere dont ce programme pourrait avoir une incidence sur les plus petites municipalites rurales, etant donne que l'hypothese semble etre qu'il est tout simplement possible de redimensionner et refondre les prescriptions de politiques de contextes urbains et suburbains pour qu'elles s'adaptent aux regions rurales. Tirant des enseignements d'un projet sur huit ans intitule 'Comprendre la nouvelle economie rurale : options et choix' (NER), l'article pretend que l'autonomie est seulement interessante en ce qui concerne la capacite d'une localite a tirer parti de nouveaux pouvoirs et que les capacites rurales sont tres differentes des capacites urbaines. Les auteurs presentent un cadre conceptuel ou la capacite est une entite dynamique et multi-dimensionnelle dont l'autonomie est une condition necessaire mais pas suffisante. Ce cadre est alors employe pour etudier a fond quatre municipalites rurales canadiennes. L'article est la premiere etude a envisager les reformes administratives traditionnelles dans un contexte rural. Ayant recours a une methodologie d'etudes de cas, les auteurs ont trouve quatre dimensions de capacite qui peuvent soutenir des changements pour l'autonomie locale : la planification strategique, la participation et le soutien des citoyens, l'expertise et l'acces aux revenus., Led by the larger urban municipalities, Canadian cities have started to reevaluate their functions, finances and powers (Keil and Young 2003). This reevaluation has shaped a new reform agenda that [...]

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2008.00787.x Byline: Bill Reimer (1), Tara Lyons (1), Nelson Ferguson (1), Geraldina Polanco (1) Abstract: Abstract This paper presents a framework for social capital that highlights the normative structures through which it is manifested. The primary focus is on the ways that norms structure the relationships in which social capital is embedded. To this end, we introduce four types of normative structures which condition social capital: market, bureaucratic, associative, and communal. A field site in Japan is used to illustrate how different aspects of social capital interact. This case analysis also serves to make an important distinction between the availability and use of social capital. The central arguments are that 1) social capital is organized in different ways by the normative structures in which it is embedded; 2) there are important interactions between these different aspects of social capital that are often overlooked by simpler frameworks; 3) a useful distinction can be made between available social capital and used social capital; 4) access to social capital can be used to analyze power relations; and 5) distinguishing different aspects of social capital makes areas visible that are overlooked by other understandings of social capital. We conclude by identifying the utility of our perspective for informing public policy and guiding future research. Author Affiliation: (1)Concordia University Article History: Received 21 July, 2006Finally accepted 30 January 2008

This paper discusses the relationship between the formal and the informal economies with insights derived from research on rural Canada. The informal economy is considered to be the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services that have economic value, but are neither protected by a formal code of law nor recorded for use by government-backed regulatory agencies. Several claims regarding the interdependence of both economies are developed and tested with time budget data from the 1992 and 1998 General Social Surveys. Findings support the importance of the informal economy as a safety net, buffer for structural changes, capacity builder, and support for social inclusion., L'auteur de cet article examine la relation existant entre les economies formelle et informelle, avec des apercus provenant de la recherche sur le Canada rural. L'economie informelle comprend la production, [...]

The effectiveness of social network in flow of technical information and importance of social capital in influencing the income generation in rural Canada are analyzed. An empirical model to study the effectiveness is developed.

REIMER B. (2002) A sample frame for rural Canada: design and evaluation, Reg. Studies 36, 845-859. This paper discusses the design, implementation and evaluation of a national sample frame for research and education in rural Canada. The sample is the basis for a multidisciplinary research project using macro-level and fieldwork in 32 systematically selected rural sites. The sites were chosen to provide comparisons on five dimensions of importance to researchers, policy makers and rural citizens. Information collected since the establishment of the project in 1997 is used to evaluate the internal and external validity of the sample frame. This evaluation points to the complex interaction of economic and geographical processes on local conditions and reinforces the value of systematic designs for rural research. Rural Canada Methodology Sampling REIMER B. (2002) Un echantillon-type du Canada rural: la conception et l'evaluation, Reg. Studies 36, 845-859. Cet article discute de la conception, de la mise en application et de l'evaluation d'un echantillon-type national pour Ia recherche et l'education dans le Canada rural. Cet echantillon sert de base pour des recherches multi-disciplinaires faites sur le plan macro-economique et sur le terrain dans 32 sites ruraux systematiquement selectionnes. Les sites ont selectionnes afin de fournir des comparaisons a cinq niveaux qui interessent les chercheurs, les decideurs et les citoyens ruraux. On se sert des informations rassemblees depuis le lancement du projet en 1997 pour evaluer la robustesse interne et externe de l'echantillon-type. Cette evaluation semble indiquer l'interaction complexe entre des processus economicogeographiques et le milieu local, et renforce Ia valeur des conceptions systematiques pour la recherche rurale. Canada rural Methodologie Echantillonnage REIMER B. (2000) Bin Stichprobenrahmen fur die landlichen Gebiete Kanadas: Entwurf und Bewertung, Reg. Studies 36, 845-859. Dieser Aufsatz behandelt Entwurf Ausfuhrung und Bewertung eines staatlichen Stichprobenrahmen fur Forschung und Bildung in den landlichen Gebieten Kanadas. Die Stichprobe bildet die Grundlage fur em Mehrbereichsforschungsprojekt; sie sttitzt sich aufArbeit im gro[beta]en Rahmen und auf Gelandearbeit an 32 systematisch ausgewahlten landlichen Stellen. Diese wurden so ausgesuclit, da[beta] sie Vergleiche funf, fur Forscher, Parteiideologen und landliche Bevolkerung wichtige Dimensionen liefern. Daten, die seit Beginn des Projektes im Jahre 1987 gesammelt werden, werden dazu benutzt, die interne und externe Gultigkeit des Stichprobenrahmens zu bewerten. Diese Bewertung zeigt die komplexe Wechselwirkung wirtschaftlicher und geographischer Prozesse auf, denen ortliche Bedingnngen unterworfen sind, und unterstreicht den Wert systematischer Entwurfe fur Forschung auf dem Lande. Landliches Kanada Methodologie Stichproben machen

Women's participation in family farm labor has been underestimated. A study of small farms in rural Quebec during 1978 measured laborer characteristics, time spent on activities, distribution of responsibility, and extent of household production. Results indicate that women's direct and indirect contributions must be integrated into agricultural production analyses. (LFL)

Using content analysis, this research focused on how three Canadian rural community newspapers over eighteen years, from different regions, communicated content about the shift from the old economy to the new economy during the period of neo-liberal policy adoption and the growth of globalization. We learned that local news coverage in the three rural communities, although present, provided superficial coverage of the changes that were occurring during the years of study. Therefore, the information that could have generated enough information to help address priorities for the community was mostly absent. The data demonstrated that while newspapers can act both as an asset or a liability and can increase capacity and Entrepreneurial Social Infrastructure (ESI), they are being underutilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines some of the social processes associated with disaster conditions. Utilising an asset-based perspective of community capacity, it focuses on four types of normative systems to interpret the ability of communities to manage disasters through market-, bureaucratic-, associative-, and communal-based norms. Drawing on experience of a wildfire in the Crowsnest Pass region of southwest Alberta, Canada, in 2003, the tensions and compatibilities among these normative systems are evaluated through interviews with 30 community leaders. The results confirm the contributions of all types of social capital to resiliency, the necessity for rapid use of place-based knowledge, and the importance of communication among all types and levels of agents. In addition, they point to the value of identifying and managing potential conflicts among the normative systems as a means to maximising their contributions. The integration of local networks and groups into the more general disaster response minimised the impacts on health and property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on consequences of the modernization of agricultural production and the development of capitalist relations of production, for the organization of farm households and household strategies using data for gender-based division of labor from rural areas in Quebec Province. The modernization of agriculture implies the increased use of technology, combined with the commercialization of both inputs and outputs. For this to happen, large capital investments are necessary, most often occurring with increases in productivity. When measuring the extent of modernization, researchers usually focus on the level of capital investment because of its central role in the process. Overall, the relationship between economic context and household is not a simple one. When modernization is controlled, the effect of changes in relations of production do not follow the claims made in the literature. Women are not significantly affected by these changes when agricultural and domestic work are taken into account. Only in the case of community participation, and possibly with respect to off-farm work, is there some indication that changes in the relations of production will affect women's work load, in both cases reducing their level of activity. Changes in relations of production appear to have an impact only with respect to activities taking place outside the home. The household is related to the general economy, it will also affect its members views, their assessment of the relative merits of their options and therefore, their choice of strategy. Hiring labor under conditions of medium modernization decreases the agricultural work of women and increases that of men. For highly modernized farms, these changes are reversed. Thus, it is not enough to assume that the general economic changes affect all women, or all men, equally.