Summary

Attempts to define a number of concepts and discusses the issues involved, in an endeavour to approximate two phenomena - local development and social protection - before considering the possible points of intersection between them (sections 2 and 3). Section 4 deals with three case studies, in Portugal, Spain and Italy. These European examples were choosen because the relationship between social protection and local development differ in each case, they are less often dealt with in comparative analyses of social policy and are being conducted in a peripheral context comprising specific connections between the State and the local economy and society. Drawn conclusions from eah case can be applied more generally. The last section contains several formative orientations to help readers adapt this text for training purposes.