Outside Funding of Community Organizations: Benefiting or Displacing the Poor?

45 Pages Posted: 27 Jul 2006 Last revised: 31 Jul 2022

See all articles by Mary Kay Gugerty

Mary Kay Gugerty

Harvard University - Department of Economics

Michael Kremer

Harvard University - Department of Economics; Brookings Institution; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Center for Global Development; Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)

Date Written: September 2000

Abstract

In response to the widespread consensus on the importance of social capital, and to concerns about the scarcity of institutions giving voice to disadvantaged groups, some donors have begun programs designed to strengthen indigenous community organizations. We use a prospective, randomized evaluation to examine a development program explicitly targeted at building social capital among rural women's groups in western Kenya. The program increased turnover among group members. It increased entry into group membership and leadership by younger, more educated women, by women employed in the formal sector, and by men. The analysis suggests that providing development assistance to indigenous community organizations of the disadvantaged may change the very characteristics of these organizations that made them attractive to outside funders.

Suggested Citation

Gugerty, Mary Kay and Kremer, Michael R., Outside Funding of Community Organizations: Benefiting or Displacing the Poor? (September 2000). NBER Working Paper No. w7896, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=242132

Mary Kay Gugerty (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Department of Economics ( email )

Littauer Center
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Michael R. Kremer

Harvard University - Department of Economics ( email )

Littauer Center
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Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Brookings Institution

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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Center for Global Development

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Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ( email )

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