Bridging the socioeconomic gapintegrating cross-border regions through comparing different worlds - region Laredo, Aquitaine - Euskadi and Öresund

Abstract

It has been said that “borders are the scars of history” (Schuman n.d), and while that may be true, we might also consider borders as living labs in which social interactions and the ability to coexist shape economic, social, and political prosperity. The socially- driven concepts, of Social Capital, and more recently Social Innovation, are the basis of extensive research across a broad scope of academic arenas. From clusters (Wolfe 1998) to health care (Global Health Innovation Guidebook), Social Capital and Social Innovation are increasingly considered as tools central to the creation of improved living environments and strong communities. The broad objective of this dissertation is to understand the impact that Social Capital and Social Innovation (social dynamics) have on economic development and competitiveness strategies in a cross-border context. To this end, we set out to test how social dynamics and links impact economic development and competitiveness strategies specifically within Region Laredo, Aquitaine-Euskadi, and Öresund. Our ultimate goal then is to tell each case study’s narrative accurately and with context, and finally identify what can be learned from each region.