Stort er velgjort – eller småt er godt?

Does school closures affect the local social capital? Through a comparative study of school closures in the municipality of Tønder (Ballum and Bedsted), we argue that centralization and school closures can eliminate the positive externality of social capital. Centralization can thus lead to a loss in the form of less social capital, which the example from Ballum clearly shows. Thus, the local community is charged an additional and hidden cost. As the example from Bedsted shows, the establishment of a free school can maintain social capital where well-functioning social networks at the local level are allowed to survive and continue to flourish through widespread cooperation.