Because of limited governmental resources, communities in Africa often rely on collective action to provide basic public goods such as schools. What drives the ability of communities to produce better schools? Two important lines of research shaped our understanding of the ability of communities...

We test the causal role of social capital, as measured by self-reported trust, in determining access to basic health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa. To skirt reverse-causality problems between social capital and basic health, we rely on instrumental variable (IV) estimates. The results show...