Dissertation Research: The Impact of Nongovernmental Organizations and State-Civil Society Relations on National Development

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This dissertation investigates the effects of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on economic development. Among the studies planned are a cross-national analysis of the effects of the extent of international NGOs in a country in 1978 on economic growth over the next twenty years. This effect is expected to vary by regime type: NGOs may be more important in more authoritarian countries where they compensate for the weak civil society. Other measures of institutional development may also determine the size of the NGO effect: data from the World Bank on the legal environment and on local administrative capacities will be tested as possible factors moderating the effectiveness of NGOs in promoting development. A survey of World Bank development experts will be developed to assess the variation in state - NGO ties (e.g., state contracting with NGOs); measures of state-civil synergy based on these ties are expected to be associated with higher economic growth and social development.