Table Of ContentExploring ‘Unseen’ Social Capital in Community Participation
Publications Series
General Editor Paul van der Velde
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Exploring ‘Unseen’ Social
Capital in Community
Participation
Everyday Lives of Poor Mainland
Chinese Migrants in Hong Kong
Sam Wong
Publications Series
Monographs 2
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ISBN 978 90 5356 034 1
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Summary contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
1 Building a ‘Pro-Poor’ Social Capital Framework
2 Ethnography – Alternative Research Methodology
3 Historical and Cultural Contexts of Mainland Chinese Migrants
in Hong Kong
4 Investing in Social Capital? – Considering the Paradoxes of
Agency in Social Exchange
5 ‘Getting the Social Relations Right’? – Understanding
Institutional Plurality and Dynamics
6 Rethinking Authority and Power in the Structures of Relations
7 Conclusions and Policy Implications
Notes
Bibliography
Annex 1
Annex 2
Detailed contents
Acknowledgements 13
Preface 15
1 Building a ‘Pro-Poor’ Social Capital Framework 17
1.1 What this book is about 17
1.2 Theorising social capital 19
1.2.1 Collective action theories 20
1.2.2 First-generation collective action model 21
1.2.3 Second-generation collective action model 23
1.2.4 Ostrom’s collective action model 24
1.2.5 Design Principles 25
1.2.6 Neo-institutional thinking 26
1.2.7 Institutional evolutionism and transferability 28
1.2.8 Bottom-up, community-based participation 29
1.3 Criticisms 29
1.3.1 Ambiguous intentionality: shifting from interest-
to norm-driven? 30
1.3.2 Over-simplification of institutions 31
1.3.3 Inadequate social construction of authority 32
1.3.4 Methodological limitations 33
1.4 Alternative perspective to social capital building 34
1.4.1 Turning to social theories 35
1.4.2 Agency-institution-structure framework 37
1.4.2.1 Agency 37
1.4.2.2 Institution 38
1.4.2.3 Structure 39
1.4.3 Understanding ‘unseen’ social capital 39
1.5 Research methodology and contexts 41
1.5.1 Profile of migrant groups and research areas 43
1.6 Chapter map 44
2 Ethnography – Alternative Research Methodology 47
2.1 Objectives 47
8 DETAILED CONTENTS
2.2 Research questions 48
2.3 Ethnographic research 49
2.3.1 Limitations of current quantitative approach 49
2.3.2 What is ethnography? 50
2.3.3 How is ethnography relevant to social capital study? 51
2.3.4 Realism 52
2.4 Case studies approach 53
2.4.1 Migrant groups 56
2.4.2 Clan associations 57
2.5 Research methods 58
2.5.1 Natural observation 58
2.5.2 Participant observation 59
2.5.2.1 Negotiating physical access 59
2.5.2.2 Data recording and analysis 60
2.5.2.3 Reflections on participant observations 61
2.5.3 Interviews 62
2.5.3.1 Life course approach 63
2.5.3.2 Key informant/ key player interviews 64
2.5.4.3 Reflections on interviews 65
2.6 Validity, reflexivity and research limitations 67
2.6.1 External and internal validity 67
2.6.2 Gender and identity 69
2.6.3 Ethical issues 70
2.6.4 Limitations of my research 70
3 Historical and Cultural Contexts of Mainland Chinese
Migrants in Hong Kong 73
3.1 Introduction 73
3.2 The history of Chinese migrants in Hong Kong 74
3.2.1 Open and closed border (1945-1960) 74
3.2.2 Touch-base policy (1960-1980) 75
3.2.3 One-way permit quota system (1980-1990) 77
3.2.3.1 Adjustment policy and split family phenomenon 77
3.2.3.2 Economic restructuring 78
3.2.3.3 The rise of the Hong Kong identity 79
3.2.4 Last decade of British rule (1990-1997) 80
3.2.4.1 NGOs challenge assimilation policy 80
3.2.4.2 Paradoxes of community participation 81
3.2.5 Post-Handover stage (1997-present) 82
3.2.5.1 Community Investment and Inclusion Fund 83
3.2.5.2 Citizen rights, empowerment and the feminist
movement 85
3.3 Social relations, culture and subjectivity 85
DETAILED CONTENTS 9
3.3.1 Informal social networks 86
3.3.2 Strong Chinese familism and face-saving mentality 86
3.3.3 Implications for collective action 88
3.4 Neighbourhood 89
3.4.1 Geographical location 89
3.4.2 Physical infrastructure and social participation 90
3.4.3 Social relations between family members 91
3.4.4 Avoiding neighbourly contacts as a strategy 92
3.5 Gender and authority 92
3.5.1 Ideal form of collective action 93
3.5.2 Complexity of gender relations 94
3.6 Migrant subjectivity and experience 94
3.7 Conclusions 95
4 Investing in Social Capital? – Considering the Paradoxes
of Agency in Social Exchange 97
4.1 Introduction 97
4.2 Modelling of incentives in the mainstream social
capital model 98
4.2.1 Strategic agency 98
4.2.2 Linear transformation of agency 99
4.2.3 Individualised and optimistic agency 99
4.3 Complexity of motivations 100
4.3.1 Wider motivations in decision making 101
4.3.2 The complex reasoning of agency 102
4.4 Agent subjectivity 104
4.4.1 Disinvesting in neighbourhood 105
4.4.2 Undeletable nature of social capital 106
4.5 Routine, habit and precedent 106
4.5.1 People routinely trust others 107
4.5.2 The conflict-avoiding nature of routine 108
4.6 Injecting agency into livelihoods 108
4.6.1 Relational reasoning of agency 108
4.6.2 Changing social networks and priorities 110
4.7 Romanticising equal negotiation 112
4.7.1 Social meanings of gift-exchange 112
4.7.2 Limited negotiation 114
4.8 Putting agency within structure 115
4.8.1 Gendered moral rationality 115
4.8.2 Reshaping masculinity 117
4.8.3 Class and identity 118
4.9 Paradoxes of agency 119
4.9.1 Agents embracing inequalities 120
