Volume 94: State-Society Synergy: Government and Social Capital in Development

Government Action, Social Capital and Development: Reviewing the Evidence on Synergy
Peter Evans, University of California, Berkeley

Download the Paper (PDF format) Tell a colleague about it. Printing Tips: Select 'print as image' in the Acrobat print dialog if you have trouble printing. This work has been peer reviewed.

ABSTRACT:
Instead of assuming a zero-sum relationship between government involvement and private cooperative efforts, the five preceding articles argue for the possibility of “state-society synergy,” that active government and mobilized communities can enhance each other’s developmental efforts. This article draws on these articles to explore the forms and sources of state-society synergy. I argue that synergy usually combines complementarity with embeddedness and is most easily fostered in so cieties characterized by egalitarian social structrues and robust, coherent state bureaucracies. I also argue, however, that synergy is constructable, even in the more adverse circumstances typical of Third World countries.