Social Capital and Aboriginal Economic Development [University of Toronto]

"I suggest that geographical isolation segregates individuals and communities from linking and bridging networks; reliance on bonding networks in such locales often results in limited access to financial and human resources. In places where networks extend beyond the community, larger pools of resources are accessed. The dissertation highlights, however, the potential detrimental role that such external networks can play in the family lives of marginal communities. Analysis of the colonial legislative framework which guided twentieth century policy makers in Canada examines how assimilative policies have interfered with various levels of social capital, and the consequential effect of such interference to economic and social development."