IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/amposc/v52y2008i3p585-602.html

Outside Funding and the Dynamics of Participation in Community Associations

Author

Listed:
  • Mary Kay Gugerty
  • Michael Kremer

Abstract

The poor and disadvantaged are widely seen as having weak organizations and low rates of participation in community associations, impeding their political representation and economic advancement. Many policy initiatives aim to build civic participation among the disadvantaged by funding local community associations. Taking advantage of random assignment in a program supporting women's community associations in Kenya, we find little evidence that outside funding expanded organizational strength, but substantial evidence that funding changed group membership and leadership, weakening the role of the disadvantaged. The program led younger, more educated, and better‐off women to enter the groups. New entrants, men, and more educated women assumed leadership positions. The departure of older women, the most socially marginalized demographic group, increased substantially. The results are generalized through a formal model showing how democratic decision making by existing members of community associations can generate long‐run outcomes in which the poor and disadvantaged either do not belong to any associations or belong to weak organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary Kay Gugerty & Michael Kremer, 2008. "Outside Funding and the Dynamics of Participation in Community Associations," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(3), pages 585-602, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:amposc:v:52:y:2008:i:3:p:585-602
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2008.00331.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2008.00331.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2008.00331.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Edward Glaeser & Giacomo Ponzetto & Andrei Shleifer, 2007. "Why does democracy need education?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 77-99, June.
    2. Mick Howes, 1997. "NGOs AND THE INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS: THE EVIDENCE FROM SIX CASES," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 9(4), pages 597-604.
    3. Udvardy, M. L., 1998. "Theorizing past and present women's organizations in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(9), pages 1749-1761, September.
    4. Siwan Anderson & Jean-Marie Baland, 2002. "The Economics of Roscas and Intrahousehold Resource Allocation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(3), pages 963-995.
    5. Esther Duflo & Petia Topalova, 2004. "Unappreciated service: Performance, perceptions, and women leaders in india," Framed Field Experiments 00233, The Field Experiments Website.
    6. Aili Tripp, 2001. "Women’s Movements and Challenges to Neopatrimonial Rule: Preliminary Observations from Africa," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 32(1), pages 33-54, January.
    7. Mick Howes, 1997. "NGOs and the institutional development of membership organisations: A Kenyan case," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(6), pages 820-847.
    8. Ghazala Mansuri, 2004. "Community-Based and -Driven Development: A Critical Review," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 19(1), pages 1-39.
    9. Edward Miguel, 2005. "Poverty and Witch Killing," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(4), pages 1153-1172.
    10. Brady, Henry E. & Verba, Sidney & Schlozman, Kay Lehman, 1995. "Beyond SES: A Resource Model of Political Participation," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(2), pages 271-294, June.
    11. Sundstrom, Lisa McIntosh, 2005. "Foreign Assistance, International Norms, and NGO Development: Lessons from the Russian Campaign," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(2), pages 419-449, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Grillos, Tara, 2017. "Participatory Budgeting and the Poor: Tracing Bias in a Multi-Staged Process in Solo, Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 343-358.
    2. Campante, Filipe R. & Chor, Davin, 2014. "“The people want the fall of the regime”: Schooling, political protest, and the economy," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 495-517.
    3. Davin Chor & Filipe R. Campante, 2008. "Schooling and Political Participation Revisited," Macroeconomics Working Papers 22072, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    4. Elias, Carlos G. & Alwang, Jeffrey Roger, 2008. "Those with blue hair please step forward: An economic theory of group formation and application to Cajas Rurales in Honduras," 2008 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2008, Orlando, Florida 6527, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    5. Alberto Chong & Mark Gradstein, 2015. "On Education and Democratic Preferences," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 362-388, November.
    6. Evans, David K. & Holtemeyer, Brian & Kosec, Katrina, 2019. "Cash transfers increase trust in local government," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 138-155.
    7. Dario Debowicz & Alex Dickson & Ian A. MacKenzie & Petros G. Sekeris, 2025. "Income and the (eventual) rise of democracy," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 204(3), pages 381-424, September.
    8. Campante, Filipe R. & Chor, Davin, 2008. "Schooling and Political Participation in a Neoclassical Framework: Theory and Evidence," Working Paper Series rwp08-043, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    9. Mwajabu Mbaruku & Darlene K. Mutalemwa, 2015. "Success Stories of Tanzanian Women Entrepreneurship Programs in Alleviating Poverty: Insights from WORTH Program," Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 3(1), pages 87-105.
    10. Esther Duflo, 2012. "Women Empowerment and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1051-1079, December.
    11. Borisova, Ekaterina I. & Polishchuk, Leonid & Peresetsky, Anatoly, 2014. "Collective management of residential housing in Russia: The importance of being social," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 609-629.
    12. Santiago López-Cariboni & Xun Cao, 2019. "When do authoritarian rulers educate: Trade competition and human capital investment in Non-Democracies," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 367-405, September.
    13. Johnson, Susan, 2004. "Gender Norms in Financial Markets: Evidence from Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1355-1374, August.
    14. Joseph Yaw Asomah & Eugene Emeka Dim, 2021. "Determinants of citizens’ support for democracy in Ghana," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(6), pages 2578-2590, November.
    15. Helen M. Haugh & Alka Talwar, 2016. "Linking Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change: The Mediating Role of Empowerment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(4), pages 643-658, February.
    16. Silvia Helena Barcellos & Leandro S. Carvalho & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2014. "Child Gender and Parental Investments in India: Are Boys and Girls Treated Differently?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 157-189, January.
    17. Dean Yang, 2008. "International Migration, Remittances and Household Investment: Evidence from Philippine Migrants' Exchange Rate Shocks," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(528), pages 591-630, April.
    18. Denny,Elaine Kathryn & Dow,David & Levy,Gabriella & Villamizar-Chaparro,Mateo, 2022. "Extortion and Civic Engagement among Guatemalan Deportees," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10020, The World Bank.
    19. Torsten Persson & Guido Tabellini, 2009. "Democratic Capital: The Nexus of Political and Economic Change," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 88-126, July.
    20. Philippe Aghion & Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & Andrei Shleifer, 2010. "Regulation and Distrust," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(3), pages 1015-1049.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:amposc:v:52:y:2008:i:3:p:585-602. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1540-5907 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.