Development and Social Structure: the case of entrepreneurs in Ghana

This research is motivated by my belief that sociological research can make significant contributions to issues of international development, and the idea of human development advocated by the United Nations in their efforts to enhance people’s capability to have a decent standard of living in developing countries. The concept pertinent to human development promotion is capacity development which means the enhancement of the social organizations of individuals with skills and resources to resolve various development problems, such as poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, and environmental degradation. This research attempts to understand how social structure shapes people’s capability by studying social and economic lives of micro-scale entrepreneurs in Ghana in order to identify how social structure enhances or constrains their capability, and to reveal ways to make social structure promote human development.