Food-processing industry as a basis for community dynamics and local socio-economic development.

The idea behind this paper is to counter traditional thinking on economic and social development that considers development as dependent byproduct of macroeconomic policies led by governments, or as a sole byproduct of entrepreneurial dynamics on the micro level. The idea we are defending here is that the "Community" as defined by German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies, (a tighter and more cohesive social entity) is a context where the "social" and "economic" are less separated and where the spatial dimension becomes more significant. This context could be an adequate analytical framework and a tool for regional development in the context of a developing country like Lebanon.