31. Civil Society, the Public Sector, and Poor Communities
- Author:
- Kingsley G. Thomas and James Gibson
- Publication Date:
- 08-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- The current devolution debate has focused on shifting responsibilities from the federal level to the states. A byproduct of this shift has been renewed attention to an often neglected element of the policy mix—the costs and benefits of different local institutionalarrangement—and to the potential roles of civil society and community-based initiatives in that mix. The local tableau has recently been rediscovered as a vital leg on which the performance of the public sector is dependent. Students of government are only beginning to understand this play between civil society and the public sector. Here we focus especially on the dynamics within poor communities, where simple assistance is no longer considered adequate to solve problems without the necessary institutional infrastructure that is sometimes included under the label “civil society.”
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Human Welfare, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- United States