Local Level Institutions Working Paper Series

Social institutions are the building blocks of development. These institutions—traditional and modern; at the community, local, regional and national levels; and in the public, private and "civil" sectors — are the vehicles through which social change and social action occur. Social capital, as discussed by Putnam and others, is the network of horizontal connections which leads to mutual commitment and trust and enables people and their institutions to function effectively. To be successful, development needs to both strengthen institutions and enhance the social capital on which they depend.

The Social Development Department of the World Bank has undertaken a program of comparative research on local level institutions and social capital. With financial support from the Government of Norway, we developed and piloted a core set of questionnaires that collect data on the institutions that function at the local level in the provision of various services, including health, education, agricultural extension, and credit. This initiative represents a significant effort to increase our understanding of the role of local level institutions in the sustainable development process. It is the first attempt by the Bank to develop a framework for data collection and analysis on local level institutions and social capital, to determine how they are patterned within and between countries, and to evaluate the implications of this information for development.

• The Local Level Institutions Study: Overview and Program Description, May 1998
  • Also available in Spanish, September 1998 and French, July 1998
• The Local Level Institutions Study: Program Description and Prototype Questionnaires, August 1998
• Estudio Sobre Las Instituciones Locales En Bolivia: Panorama General Y Descripción, Muestreo Y Recolección De Datos, Y Encuestas, August 1998
  by Godofredo Sandóval, Julio Córdoba, Beatriz Ascarrunz, Alfredo Balboa, Griselda Gonzales, and Gloria Velásquez
• Grassroots Organizations and Local Development in Bolivia: a Study of the Municipalities of Tiahuanacu, Mizque, Villa Serrano, and Charagua, October 1998 (Annexes: 2, 4, 5)
  by Godofredo Sandóval, Julio Cordova, Beatriz Ascarrunz, Alfredo Balboa, Griselda Gonzales, and Gloria Velasques
  • Also available in Spanish, October 1998 (Annexes 1, 2, 3, 4)
• Local Institutions and Service Delivery in Indonesia, April 1999
  by Christiaan Grootaert
• Social Capital, Household Welfare and Poverty in Indonesia, April 1999
  by Christiaan Grootaert
• Social Capital and Development Outcomes in Burkina Faso, September 1999
  by Christiaan Grootaert, Gi-Taik Oh, and Anand Swamy
• Local Institutions and Service Delivery in Burkina Faso, September 1999
  by Anand Swamy, Christiaan Grootaert, and Gi-Taik Oh
• Local Institutions, Poverty and Household Welfare in Bolivia, April 2000
  by Christiaan Grootaert and Deepa Narayan
• Does Social Capital Help The Poor? A Synthesis of Findings from the Local Level Institutions Studies in Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Indonesia, June 2001
  by Christiaan Grootaert