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"This comparative study aims to develop a deeper understanding of collectivism, trade unionism, and the capacity to create collective action using Finland and Cambodia as examples of individualistic and collectivistic societies, respectively. The study has two goals: 1) To explore the relationship between collective action, and the level and forms of collectivism in Cambodia and in Finland. 2) To explain if and how the level of collectivism affects the degree of cooperation inside the living system. Phenomena such as political participation, family values, levels of trust within the society, and perceived collective efficacy are examined. The study is based on extensive survey data collected in Cambodia and Finland.The theoretical framework is sociological, involving the study of social systems within which observed regularities emerge and evolve through collaborative and collective behaviour. This approach also entails the personality systems of individual actors and the cultural system built into their actions. The main analytical tool used in the study is the Cultural Agency Theory (CAT).Significant differences were found in how individuals behave at the societal level. Collective action and political participation occur at a higher level in Finland compared to Cambodia. The results also show that the question of individualism versus collectivism is more complex than is generally believed."

collective action, trade unionism, trust, individualism, collectivism, human agency, Cultural Agency Theory, Cambodia, Finland

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Sociology --- Political participation --- Group decision making --- Sociologie --- Participation politique --- Décision de groupe --- Philosophy --- Philosophie --- Sociology - Philosophy - Collective action - Group. --- Dictionnaire --- Postérité du marxisme --- Pouvoir politique

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This book examines how a society that is trapped in stagnation might initiate and sustain economic and political development. In this context, progress requires the reform of existing arrangements, along with the complementary evolution of informal institutions. It involves enhancing state capacity, balancing broad avenues for political input, and limiting concentrated private and public power. This juggling act can only be accomplished by resolving collective-action problems (CAPs), which arise when individuals pursue interests that generate undesirable outcomes for society at large. Merging and extending key perspectives on CAPs, inequality, and development, this book constructs a flexible framework to investigate these complex issues. By probing four basic hypotheses related to knowledge production, distribution, power, and innovation, William D. Ferguson offers an analytical foundation for comparing and evaluating approaches to development policy. Navigating the theoretical terrain that lies between simplistic hierarchies of causality and idiosyncratic case studies, this book promises an analytical lens for examining the interactions between inequality and development. Scholars and researchers across economic development and political economy will find it to be a highly useful guide.

Economic conditions. Economic development --- Equality --- Economic aspects. --- collective-action problems. --- economic development. --- inequality. --- institutional systems. --- political development. --- political settlements. --- Equality Economic aspects --- Economic aspects

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Broad consensus exists that the ability of political actors to make credible commitments is key to development. An important and little-explored determinant of the credibility of political commitments is the existence of organizations that facilitate citizen collective action to sanction political actors who renege. This paper focuses on one essential organization, the political party. Three measures of political parties are used to assess cross-country differences in the degree to which politicians facilitate the ability of citizens to act in their collective interest. Each of these measures is associated with superior development outcomes, above and beyond the effects of competitive elections. These results have implications for understanding the extraordinary economic success of some East Asian countries and notable lags among others: East Asian non-democracies exhibit more institutionalized ruling parties than other non-democracies, while East Asian democracies exhibit equally or less institutionalized parties. The evidence suggests that greater research and policy emphasis be placed on the organizational characteristics of countries that allow citizens to hold leaders accountable.

Collective Action --- Corporate Law --- Credible Commitment --- E-Government --- Economic Development --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Parliamentary Government --- Political Parties --- Political Systems and Analysis --- Politics and Government --- Service Delivery

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In response to the problems of high coordination costs among the poor, efforts are underway in many countries to organize the poor through "self-help groups" (SHGs)-membership-based organizations that aim to promote social cohesion through a mixture of education, access to finance, and linkages to wider development programs. The authors randomly selected 32 of 80 villages in one of the poorest districts in rural India in which to establish SHGs for women. Two years of exposure to these programs increased women's participation in group savings programs as well as the non-agricultural labor force. Compared to women in control villages, treated women were also more likely to participate in household decisions and engage in civic activities. The authors find no evidence however, that participation increased income or had a disproportionate impact by women's socio-economic status. These results are important in light of the recent effort to expand official support to SHGs under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.

Access to Finance --- Collective action --- Community development --- Gender --- Housing & Human Habitats --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Population Policies --- Poverty --- Primary Education --- Social Accountability --- South Asia