Analyzing how a Social Base Impacts Economic Development and Competitiveness Strategies in a Cross-border Context: the Case of Region Laredo

It has been said that, “borders are the scars of history” (Schuman n.d. French Statesman, Founder of European Union), and while that may be true, borders might also be considered as living labs in which social interactions and the ability to coexist ultimately 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 2002. Knowledge, Learning and Social Capital in Ontario’s ICT Clusters. Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Toronto, May (http://www.utoronto.ca/progris/pdffiles/Ontario%27s%20ICT%20Clusters.pdf)) 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 objective of this paper is to explore the impact that Social Capital and Social Innovation (a Social Base) have on economic development and competitiveness strategies in a cross-border context. To this end and through the application of our analytical framework, we set out to test how these social dynamics and links impact economic development and competitiveness strategies, specifically within Region Laredo.