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How Does Development Assistance Affect Collective Action Capacity? Results from a Field Experiment in Post-Conflict Liberia

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  • FEARON, JAMES D.
  • HUMPHREYS, MACARTAN
  • WEINSTEIN, JEREMY M.

Abstract

Social cooperation is critical to a wide variety of political and economic outcomes. For this reason, international donors have embraced interventions designed to strengthen the ability of communities to solve collective-action problems, especially in post-conflict settings. We exploit the random assignment of a development program in Liberia to assess the effects of such interventions. Using a matching funds experiment we find evidence that these interventions can alter cooperation capacity. However, we observe effects only in communities in which, by design, both men and women faced the collective action challenge. Focusing on mechanisms, we find evidence that program effects worked through improvements in mobilization capacity that may have enhanced communities’ ability to coordinate to solve mixed gender problems. These gains did not operate in areas where only women took part in the matching funds experiment, possibly because they could rely on traditional institutions unaffected by the external intervention. The combined evidence suggests that the impact of donor interventions designed to enhance cooperation can depend critically on the kinds of social dilemmas that communities face, and the flexibility they have in determining who should solve them.

Suggested Citation

  • Fearon, James D. & Humphreys, Macartan & Weinstein, Jeremy M., 2015. "How Does Development Assistance Affect Collective Action Capacity? Results from a Field Experiment in Post-Conflict Liberia," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 109(3), pages 450-469, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:109:y:2015:i:03:p:450-469_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Pedro C. Vicente & Ines Vilela, 2020. "Preventing violent Islamic radicalization: experimental evidence on anti-social behavior," NOVAFRICA Working Paper Series wp2008, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRICA.
    2. De Juan, Alexander & Koos, Carlo, 2019. "The historical roots of cooperative behavior—Evidence from eastern Congo," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 100-112.
    3. Nomikos, William George, 2021. "More Security, More Legitimacy? Effective Governance as a Source of State Legitimacy in Liberia," OSF Preprints hd28z, Center for Open Science.
    4. Fearon, James D. & Humphreys, Macartan, 2018. "Why Do Women Co-Operate More in Women’s Groups?," EconStor Open Access Articles, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 217-236.
    5. Elena Esposito & Tiziano Rotesi & Alessandro Saia & Mathias Thoenig, 2023. "Reconciliation Narratives: The Birth of a Nation after the US Civil War," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(6), pages 1461-1504, June.
    6. Enste, Dominik & Acht, Martin, 2018. "Democratic support and corruption: Lessons from East Europe," IW-Reports 44/2018, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) / German Economic Institute.
    7. Baldwin, Kate & Karlan, Dean & Udry, Christopher & Appiah, Ernest, 2023. "How political insiders lose out when international aid underperforms: Evidence from a participatory development experiment in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    8. James D. Fearon & Macartan Humphreys, 2017. "Why do women co-operate more in women's groups?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-163, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Sawada, Yasuyuki & Aida, Takeshi & Griffen, Andrew S. & Kozuka, Eiji & Noguchi, Haruko & Todo, Yasuyuki, 2022. "Democratic institutions and social capital: Experimental evidence on school-based management from a developing country," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 267-279.
    10. Nomikos, William George, 2021. "Peacekeeping and the Enforcement of Intergroup Cooperation: Evidence from Mali," SocArXiv 36j8q, Center for Open Science.
    11. Kahsay, Goytom Abraha & Bulte, Erwin, 2021. "Internal versus top-down monitoring in community resource management: Experimental evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 111-131.
    12. Madajewicz, Malgosia & Tompsett, Anna & Habib, Md. Ahasan, 2021. "How does delegating decisions to communities affect the provision and use of a public service? Evidence from a field experiment in Bangladesh," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    13. Cyrus Samii, 2023. "Revisiting community-driven reconstruction in fragile states," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-26, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Bakaki, Zorzeta & Dorussen, Han, 2023. "Trust in peacebuilding organizations: A survey experiment in Haiti," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    15. Nourani, Vesall & Maertens, Annemie & Michelson, Hope, 2021. "Public good provision and democracy: Evidence from an experiment with farmer groups in Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    16. Francesco Bripi & Daniela Grieco, 2023. "Participatory incentives," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 26(4), pages 813-849, September.
    17. Kim, Youngwan & Sohn, Hyuk-Sang & Park, Bokyeong, 2019. "Make the village better: An evaluation of the Saemaul Zero Hunger Communities Project in Tanzania and Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    18. PatriÌ cia Justino & Wolfgang Stojetz, 2018. "On the Legacies of Wartime Governance," HiCN Working Papers 263, Households in Conflict Network.
    19. Vicente, Pedro C. & Vilela, Inês, 2022. "Preventing Islamic radicalization: Experimental evidence on anti-social behavior," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 474-485.

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