The role of voluntary organizations in the development and retention of social capital in areas of persistent poverty

Abstract

<:;:urrent sociological literature on social capital has examined the issue of the role of voluntary organizations in the development of social capital primarily at the individual level of analysis, notably the work of Bourdieu, Coleman, and Portes and Sensenbrenner. This has been closely linked with sociological work in community studies and civil society, particularly as it relates to community action and development, particularly through the work of Wilkinson, Flora and Flora, and Tilly. But sociological literature has paid little attention to the role of