Self-Help Groups, Savings and Social Capital: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Cambodia

46 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Radu Ban

Radu Ban

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Michael J. Gilligan

New York University - Department of Politics

Matthias Rieger

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Institute of Social Studies (ISS)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 29, 2015

Abstract

This paper studies how self-help groups?village-based organizations designed to encourage savings, household production and social cohesion among the poor?can promote economic and social capital. The paper uses survey data and a wide array of social capital measures to assess the impact of a pilot program that was randomly rolled out in rural villages in Cambodia. The study finds that the program encouraged savings and associations via self-help groups. However it did not improve social capital measured by household and network surveys and lab activities that gauge trust, trustworthiness and the willingness to contribute to public goods. The findings contradict recent work that has found significant positive impacts of such groups on social capital. This paper evaluates community-wide impacts while most previous studies focus on program participants. In addition, the empirical strategy is based on a broader array of social capital measures, including behavioral indicators, suggesting that finding impacts of such programs on social capital is sensitive to the measurement strategy.

Keywords: Inequality, Social Development & Poverty

Suggested Citation

Ban, Radu and Gilligan, Michael J. and Rieger, Matthias, Self-Help Groups, Savings and Social Capital: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Cambodia (July 29, 2015). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7382, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2637702

Radu Ban (Contact Author)

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ( email )

P.O. Box 23350
Seattle, WA 98102
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.gatesfoundation.org

Michael J. Gilligan

New York University - Department of Politics ( email )

19 West 4th Street
New York, NY 10012
United States

Matthias Rieger

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Institute of Social Studies (ISS)

PO Box 29776
Den Haag, 2518 AX
Netherlands

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