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The importance for political studies of the problems related to collective action &, more generally, to cooperation cannot be neglected. Some of these problems find a solution; others do not. This article is related to the growing literature about social capital. It shows that social capital (ie, institutionalized expectations of cooperation) can help to explain the institutional performance of a microfinance program in Ethiopia. In this regard, it is assumed that the rate of repayment for different credit groups is influenced by their ability to lower the transaction costs of supplying a collective good (an efficient regime). The channels through which the social capital is hypothesized to be working are addressed from both a theoretical & an empirical point of view. The consequences of these findings in terms of both politics & policies for development, especially in the rural areas of less developed countries, are assessed. 3 Tables, 1 Appendix, 62 References. Adapted from the source document.

Italy's economic aid to Ethiopia and Somalia, 1981-89. Summary in English p. 276-7.

Ethiopia has been ever the icon of sovereignty for Africa and the blacks of the whole world. The process of formation of modern statehood paved the way to a born-again state reinforcing the central authority and absorbing the proto-states of the southern regions. The territorial expansion undertaken by Menelik in the last decades of XIX century encompassed into a multination Empire peoples and nations who didn't share the same values, religions and languages with the dominating stock. Hence, the image of a an alien occupation in order to exploit the work of the groups out of power and often deprived of the lands. Actually the Christian elites dwelling the highlands, the so-called Abyssinians, treated the "indigenous" peoples, especially of the south, with arrogance and paternalism as backward and pagan ones. Besides, tension between Islam and Christianity was a permanent factor in the history of Ethiopia. The oppression has been more visible as far as the eastern frontier, which has been garrisoned employing force instead of flexibility and assimilation. In such a context a special issue of contention has been the role of Amhara, who according to some historical versions and in the grievances of the communities put in a subject or servile condition were responsible to exercise an hegemony in their exclusive advantage. The Amhara themselves deny to be an ethnic group and pretend to be actually the true Ethiopian nationals. Amhara can be seen rather as a metaphor for power whereas Oromo (Galla in the Italian colonial sources) is a metaphor for the relative lack of it. Any way, it should be a mistake to draw analogy with European colonialism even at the level of stereotype. Adapted from the source document.

Ethnic conflicts, self-determination movements, economic assistance, and democratic transition in the post-cold war era; Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti; 6 articles.