Economic Development in the Nonmetropolitan West: The Influence of Built, Natural, and Social Capital

An increasing amount of research has been dedicated to studying economic development at the community level. Although several scholars have examined the effect of one or more community capitals on economic development, few studies examine the full array of capital with respect to economic development. In particular, research has failed to examine community leaders 'perceptions of how the different types of capital affect the implementation of businesses in the community. Using survey and interview data collected from seven communities in Oregon and Washington, I examine which forms of community capital: human, built, social, and natural community leaders perceive as having a substantive effect on local economic development as well as explain how such perceptions held by leaders relate to economic development implementation and promotion. Results suggest that community leaders perceive built, social, and natural capitals as having the most effect on economic development. Communities that had high levels of at least two of the capitals, natural, built, and social, had implemented the largest number of outside businesses or industries in the previous three years. On the other hand, the two communities with high natural capital, low built capital, and moderate social capital had implemented the most local businesses or industry in the previous three years. These findings illustrate the need for researchers, policy-makers, and community activists to heavily consider the complex ways that built, natural, and social capital work together to influence self-development and industrial recruitment.