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Research Question/Issue: We study the relationship between informal rules (represented by social norms and social cohesion in a community) and corporate governance. A community is a large social unit characterized by a distinct set of informal rules. Specifically, three hypotheses are tested: (1) Communities with stronger social norms will have more open firm-level corporate governance, (2) More socially cohesive communities will have more open firm-level corporate governance, and (3) The relationship between social norms and corporate governance will be mediated by social cohesion.

Research Findings/Insights: Unlike previous studies, we use data from a single, culturally diverse country, Ukraine, in order to isolate the effect of informal rules. The country's provinces are used as proxies for communities. We develop our measures of social norms and social cohesion by performing a factor analysis on the measures commonly used in previous research (social capital, religiosity, total fertility, ethnic homogeneity, linguistic homogeneity, and homicide rate). All three hypotheses are supported, whether using composite or individual measures of social norms and cohesion. The mediation is partial, suggesting that the hypothesized effect of social norms on corporate governance may (i) partly come through cohesion and (ii) partly be direct. The results are highly significant and robust, and they hold very well when controlled for economic development, firm characteristics, and industry.

Theoretical/Academic Implications: We contribute to the large literature on institutional determinants of corporate governance by proposing that informal rules may have a substantial impact on firm-level corporate governance. We also identify specific sources of informal rules: social norms and cohesion. Testing our insights in other countries and in cross-country settings would help to further understand what rules matter for corporate governance and whether informal rules may substitute for formal rules. Another research opportunity, perhaps best exploited through case-based research, is the deeper enquiry into the very mechanism by which informal rules may affect firm-level corporate governance.

Practitioner/Policy Implications: Manipulating informal rules, such as norms and cohesion, is an unlikely option for corporate governance reform. If that is the case, the policy should consist in adjusting the governance system to fit them. As this fit will differ across communities and countries, international convergence of corporate governance appears unlikely.

Empirical studies have found that achieving superdiversity—a substantial increase in the scale and scope of minority ethnic and immigrant groups in a region—can provide certain economic benefits, such as higher levels of worker productivity and innovation. Other studies have found that these benefits can be compromised by political and populist anxieties about ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity.

This article adds to recent literature in migration studies on the importance of place and space by drawing on extended interviews with residents in the Alum Rock area of East Birmingham. Our central theme is the exploration of reputational geographies; the symbolic and material boundaries drawn around places as indicators of social status, sites of memories, and repositories of affect that can have profound socio-economic as well as emotional consequences for city residents. We argue that research and policy addressing urban social diversity must display a greater sensitivity to the deeply felt affiliations to, and memories of, local settings expressed by our respondents. We conclude that contemporary debates about multiculturalism and urban social cohesion require greater attention to the particularities of place and local identity.

Abstract
If immigration causes a decrease in social cohesion, then it may also be an important contributing factor in the recent failure of financial institutions. The present analysis finds some evidence for a negative relationship between immigration and volunteering from the Current Population Survey 2004–2008 September Supplements. Various specifications confirm the tendency of immigrant inflows to decrease social cohesion, as measured by the tendency of native U.S. citizens to volunteer. Differences in effect by type of volunteering organization, country of origin of immigrants, functional form, and voting as the relevant measure of social cohesion are explored with similar patterns of results. Differences in effect by city size provide a counterpoint, lending support to the alternative idea that immigration does not in fact decrease social cohesion.

JEL codes

H8; Z13; J61

"This book argues that social cohesion is achieved through people (new arrivals as well as the long-term settled) being able to resolve the conflicts and tensions within their day-to-day lives in ways that they find positive and viable. These everyday tensions and difficulties are not the result of segregated communities or introduced by problematic new arrivals but rather arise from the conditions of postindustrialism, individualism and neoliberalism. These social and economic forces shape the contours of people's everyday lives, varying according to where they live and the histories of those places. Most important are the histories and narratives of earlier migrations in each place. This book challenges the prevailing view that social cohesion is about the assimilation of new immigrants through acceptance of shared values of Britishness. Rather social cohesion is achieved through people's broad acceptance of a diverse Britain and by navigating the fine lines between separateness and commonalities/differences and unity in the places where they live"--Provided by publisher.

In current theoretical and policy debates concerning social cohesion, the neighbourhood has re-emerged as an important setting for many of the processes which supposedly shape social identity and life-chances. It is in this context of a renewal of interest in local social relations and particularly the deployment of notions of social capital that this paper offers a critical review of a wide-ranging literature. The paper explores initially and briefly the idea that societies face a new crisis of social cohesion and outlines the key dimensions of societal cohesion. The core of the paper is then devoted to an examination of where the contemporary residential neighbourhood fits into these wider debates, particularly in relation to the interaction between social cohesion and social capital. In this context, some of the key debates around the concept of social capital are outlined. In moving beyond abstraction, the paper also shows how social capital can be broken down into relevant domains for policy action at the neighbourhood level and how concepts such as social cohesion and social capital can be operationalised for research purposes.

Based on a flagship research project for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's Immigration and Inclusion programme, this book argues that social cohesion is achieved through people (new arrivals as well as the long-term settled) being able to resolve the conflicts and tensions within their day-to-day lives in ways that they find positive and viable.

Social theorists frequently argue that social cohesion is under threat in developed societies from the multiple pressures of globalisation. This article seeks to test this hypothesis through examining the trends across countries and regions in key indicators of social cohesion, including social and political trust, tolerance and perceptions of conflict. It finds ample evidence of long-term declines in cohesion in many countries, not least as exemplified by the erosion of social and political trust, which is particularly dramatic in the UK. The trends are not entirely convergent, since on most indicators Nordic countries have become more cohesive, yet each country faces challenges. In the final section the authors argue that different 'regimes of social cohesion' can be identified in specific clusters of countries which are based on different cultural and institutional foundations. In the 'liberal model', which applies in the UK and the US, the greatest threat to cohesion comes not from increasing cultural diversity, but from increasing barriers to mobility and the subsequent atrophy of faith in individual opportunity and meritocratic rewards — precisely those beliefs which have traditionally held liberal societies together.

Stakeholder theory is a "weak" theory, which suffers from a number of flaws. This article is based on the intuition that many of these problems are linked together, and that they are fundamentally due to the fact that stakeholder theory fails to appreciate the place of civil society as a stakeholder. It starts with an examination of the confusing status of society in stakeholder theory, and suggests that civil society should be on top of the stakeholder list. It then underlines the emergence of a global society, distinct from national societies. An extended classification system is presented, which comprises a binary categorization, an intermediate taxonomy, and a developed typology; this system is illustrated in the form of a mapping. The article then addresses the issue of the theory's normative underpinnings: the concept of social cohesion is proposed as an alternative justification. The meaning of this concept is specified, and its relevance as a normative foundation is justified. Eventually, this reinterpretation of stakeholder theory, which emphasizes the importance of civil society and social cohesion, provides some rationales for the connection of its empirical and normative streams – thus rendering it more consistent and more robust.

At a time of crisis like the present it seems that the territories are even more vulnerable and fragile: emerging social issues, made of new poverty, new needs, a frayed social fabric and lack of social networks. This "syndrome of weakness" can be remedied only if the collective intelligence of an area fails to activate development policies for education and culture of legality, stimulating communities practices and investing in intangible factors of development (such as construction and socialization of new knowledge, social capital, good practices of a territorial intelligence). There are many different conditions in which these invisible factors are materialized, differentiating the performance of certain areas than others. It is so spoken about external economies; of benefits of cooperation in a context of stable and repeated relationships; of use of trust as the glue of a local division of labour; of community spirit in the relationships between economic operators who share the same vision of things and the same story; of increasing returns triggered by localized dynamic learning; of sharing knowledge, professional practices and rules of social behaviour in order to favour social and systemic innovation. This new paradigm - that sees social cohesion as a premise and not as a result of the development - should ensure the broadest participation of citizens in the decision making processes of governance and therefore the sustainable human development. ; In un momento di crisi come quello attuale, sembra che i territori siano ancora più vulnerabili e fragili. Questa "sindrome di debolezza" può essere risolta solo se l'intelligenza collettiva di un territorio riesce ad attivare politiche di sviluppo per l'istruzione e la cultura della legalità, per la creazione di pratiche di comunità e per l'investimento in fattori immateriali dello sviluppo (socializzazione di nuova conoscenza, capitale sociale, intelligenze territoriali). Questo nuovo paradigma - che vede la coesione sociale come premessa e non come risultato ...

Abstract
Social cohesion holds significant importance within immigrant communities, providing them with a sense of belonging to a group of people who share many similarities while they are adapting to an unfamiliar environment. This article explores social cohesion in the Indian community in Vietnam through the primary method of surveying and in-depth interviews. The authors believe that the Indian community in Vietnam currently is not closely connected, but that its members show a certain dependence on and trust in the members of the community. Regarding cohesion methods, the article explores the main methods of engagement, such as participation in community activities, in the activities of representative organisations, and in interactive groups on social media. In all three ways it is undeniable that Indians living in Vietnam have made efforts to stick together and unite, but the results have not really been what they wanted.

The paper discusses the level of social inclusion of Romani people in Serbia as a critical indicator of social cohesion. Historical and current statistical data show that Romani people in Serbia, as well as in other European countries, have centuries long experience of marginalization and discrimination. Since the 1970s, the political and institutional conditions for their cultural, political and social affirmation have been gradually constructed. With the growth of their visibility and homogeneousity, it became even more important to include Romani people in society and economy and thus to achieve higher level of social cohesion. Since 2000, many results have been achieved in the social inclusion of Romani people in Serbia in key areas (education, employment, economic empowerment, housing, anti-discrimination), but the state of affairs is still far from desirable. The main problem lies in political culture-stereotypes and prejudices about Romani people and marginalization and occasional discrimination based on them. Such political culture hampers the strengthening of social cohesion in Serbia.

AbstractExaminations of the effectiveness of diplomacy in conflict resolution generally focus on official political institutions and the roles that they play. This article takes a different tack and focuses on the social institutions and groups that exist in and are affected by a conflict environment. This article argues that conflict resilience— which we define here as the ability to resist and recover from conflict — and its ability to contribute to social cohesion are key dimensions of the ability to manage conflict in the types of conflicts that are prevalent in the world today. We examine several different definitions and examples of conflict resilience, and identify actions that outside actors can take to support resilient institutions and groups, particularly in the areas of supporting effective domestic institutions, promoting inclusion and encouraging good leadership.

In this comment on Reisman's article on Richard Titmuss, it is argued that his thesis -- that too much commercialism undermines the social bond -- remains especially relevant in the context of the growing commercialisation of social services in Western societies. In particular, in advocating 'socialist' social policies, which encouraged the sense of community & therefore favoured positive externalities while curbing negative ones, Titmuss reminds economists of the significance of the gift relationship among the coordinating mechanisms that assure social cohesion. 6 References. [Copyright 2004 Elsevier B.V.]