IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura/00263.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The rockefeller effect

Author

Listed:
  • Mary Kay Gugerty
  • Michael Kremer

Abstract

Many argue that organizations of the disadvantaged create positive externalities, and in particular strengthen the position of these groups in society. A natural inference is that these organizations should be subsidized. We argue that the benefits of expanding the operations of these groups must be set against the potential costs of weakening the role of the disadvantaged in these organizations. A prospective, randomized evaluation of a development program targeted at strengthening rural women's groups in western Kenya suggests that the program did not improve group strength or functioning as measured by participation rates, assistance to members, and assistance to other community projects. The funding did, however, change the very characteristics of the groups that made them attractive to funders in the first place. Younger, more educated women and women employed in the formal sector joined the groups, and men and better-educated and wealthier women moved into key leadership positions.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary Kay Gugerty & Michael Kremer, 2004. "The rockefeller effect," Natural Field Experiments 00263, The Field Experiments Website.
    • Handle: RePEc:feb:natura:00263
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://s3.amazonaws.com/fieldexperiments-papers2/papers/00263.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Kremer & Edward Miguel, 2003. "Networks, social learning, and technology adoption: The case of deworming drugs in kenya," Natural Field Experiments 00312, The Field Experiments Website.
    2. John Hoddinott, 2002. "Participation and Poverty Reduction: An Analytical Framework and Overview of the Issues," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 11(1), pages 146-168, March.
    3. Kumar, Sanjay, 2002. "Does "Participation" in Common Pool Resource Management Help the Poor? A Social Cost-Benefit Analysis of Joint Forest Management in Jharkhand, India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 763-782, May.
    4. Mary Kay Gugerty & Michael Kremer, 2000. "Outside Funding of Community Organizations: Benefiting or Displacing the Poor?," NBER Working Papers 7896, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Brown, L. David & Ashman, Darcy, 1996. "Participation, social capital, and intersectoral problem solving: African and Asian cases," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(9), pages 1467-1479, September.
    6. Thomas, Barbara P., 1987. "Development through Harambee: Who wins and who loses? Rural self-help projects in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 463-481, April.
    7. Stiles, Kendall, 2002. "International Support for NGOs in Bangladesh: Some Unintended Consequences," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 835-846, May.
    8. Woolcock, Michael & Narayan, Deepa, 2000. "Social Capital: Implications for Development Theory, Research, and Policy," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 15(2), pages 225-249, August.
    9. Chris Garforth, 1994. "Rural people's organizations and agricultural extension in the upper north of thailand: Who benefits?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 6(6), pages 707-720, November.
    10. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2002. "Participation and Development: Perspectives from the Comprehensive Development Paradigm," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(2), pages 163-182, June.
    11. repec:bla:rdevec:v:6:y:2002:i:2:p:163-82 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Burney, Jennifer A. & Naylor, Rosamond L., 2012. "Smallholder Irrigation as a Poverty Alleviation Tool in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 110-123.

    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. Ghazala Mansuri, 2004. "Community-Based and -Driven Development: A Critical Review," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 19(1), pages 1-39.
    2. Paolo de Renzio, "undated". "Bigmen and Wantoks: Social Capital and Group Behaviour in Papua New Guinea," QEH Working Papers qehwps27, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    3. Mogues, Tewodaj & Carter, Michael R., 2003. "Social Capital and Incentive Compatibility: Modelling the Accumulation and Use of Social Collateral," Staff Paper Series 460, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    4. Hannah Pieters & Andrea Guariso & Anneleen Vandeplas, 2013. "Conceptual framework for the analysis of the determinants of food and nutrition security," FOODSECURE Working papers 13, LEI Wageningen UR.
    5. Ana Kopren & Hans Westlund, 2021. "Bridging versus Bonding Social Capital in Entrepreneurs’ Networks: The Case of Post-Conflict Western Balkans," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, March.
    6. Dong, Zhiqiang & Zhang, Yongjing, 2016. "Accumulated social capital, institutional quality, and economic performance: Evidence from China," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 206-219.
    7. Joseph Devine, 2003. "The Paradox of Sustainability: Reflections on NGOs in Bangladesh," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 590(1), pages 227-242, November.
    8. Dufhues, Thomas & Buchenrieder, Gertrud & Quoc, Hoang Dinh & Munkung, Nuchanata, 2011. "Social capital and loan repayment performance in Southeast Asia," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 679-691.
    9. Carlson, Laura A. & Bitsch, Vera, 2018. "Social sustainability in the ready-made-garment sector in Bangladesh: an institutional approach to supply chains," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 21(2), March.
    10. Abhilas Pradhan & Rabinarayan Patra, 2013. "Heterogeneity, collective action and management sustainability in common property forest resources: case study from the Indian state Odisha," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 979-997, August.
    11. Mahto, Raj V. & Belousova, Olga & Ahluwalia, Saurabh, 2020. "Abundance – A new window on how disruptive innovation occurs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    12. Foa, Roberto, 2009. "Social and governance dimensions of climate change : implications for policy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4939, The World Bank.
    13. Diana Trujillo, 2018. "Multiparty Alliances and Systemic Change: The Role of Beneficiaries and Their Capacity for Collective Action," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(2), pages 425-449, June.
    14. L. Jamila Haider & Benjamin Neusel & Garry D. Peterson & Maja Schlüter, 2019. "Past management affects success of current joint forestry management institutions in Tajikistan," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(5), pages 2183-2224, October.
    15. Pilar Useche, 2016. "Who Contributes to the Provision of Public Goods at the Community Level? The Case of Potable Water in Ghana," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 34(6), pages 869-888, November.
    16. Fabio Sabatini, 2006. "Social Capital and Labour Productivity in Italy," Working Papers 2006.30, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    17. Kasarjyan, Milada, 2011. "Improving the functioning of the rural financial markets of Armenia," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 62, number 62.
    18. Fox, Jonathan A, 2000. "The World Bank and social capital: Lessons from ten rural development projects in the Philippines and Mexico," Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, Working Paper Series qt1vj8v86j, Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, UC Santa Cruz.
    19. A. Arrighetti & G. Seravalli & G. Wolleb, 2001. "Social Capital, Institutions and Collective Action Between Firms," Economics Department Working Papers 2001-EP08, Department of Economics, Parma University (Italy).
    20. Giuseppina Guagnano & Elisabetta Santarelli & Isabella Santini, 2016. "Can Social Capital Affect Subjective Poverty in Europe? An Empirical Analysis Based on a Generalized Ordered Logit Model," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(2), pages 881-907, September.

    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:feb:natura:00263. 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: Franco Daniel Albino (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.fieldexperiments.com .

    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.