Gauri, VarunWoolcock, MichaelDesai, Deval2012-03-192012-03-192011-06-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/3471The capacity to act collectively is not just a matter of groups sharing interests, incentives and values (or being sufficiently small), as standard economic theory predicts, but a prior and shared understanding of the constituent elements of problem(s) and possible solutions. From this standpoint, the failure to act collectively can stem at least in part from relevant groups failing to ascribe a common intersubjective meaning to situations, processes and events. Though this is a general phenomenon, it is particularly salient in countries characterized by societal fragility and endemic conflict. We develop a conceptual account of intersubjective meanings, explain its relevance to development practice and research, and examine its implications for development work related to building the rule of law and managing common pool resources.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYACCOUNTINGADJUDICATIONANTHROPOLOGYANTI-CORRUPTIONARTSBASICBASIC SERVICEBELIEF SYSTEMSBELIEFSBRIDE BURNINGCASTLECHURCHCITIZENSCIVIL SOCIETYCIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONSCIVIL WARCOLLAPSESCOLLECTIVECOLLECTIVE ACTIONCOLLECTIVE ACTION PROBLEMSCOLLECTIVE BARGAININGCOMMERCIAL ENTERPRISESCONFIDENCECORRUPTCORRUPTIONCRIMECULTURAL BACKGROUNDCULTURAL HERITAGECULTURESCUSTOMCUSTOMSDANCEDEMOCRACIESDEMOCRACYDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT POLICYDIFFERENT SYSTEMSDISPUTE RESOLUTIONDISSEMINATIONDIVERSITYDIVISION OF LABORECONOMIC CONDITIONSECONOMIC COSTSECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC INEQUALITYECONOMIC RIGHTSECONOMIC THEORYECONOMICSEDUCATION FOR GIRLSENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCESEQUALITYFAMILY RESOURCESFEMALE GENITAL MUTILATIONFERTILITYFORMULATION OF STRATEGIESFREE PRESSGAME THEORYGEOGRAPHYHISTORIANSHOUSEHOLD SURVEYSHUMAN ACTIVITYHUMAN BEINGSHUMAN CULTURESHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN SOCIETIESILLNESSIMMUNIZATIONIMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENTINCOMEINDIVIDUALSINNOVATIONINSTITUTIONAL RULESINSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURESINSTITUTIONAL SYSTEMSINTEGRITYINTERNATIONAL LAWINVESTIGATIONINVESTIGATIONSJUDICIARYJUSTICELABOR FORCELABOR MARKETSLABOR MOVEMENTSLAWSLEARNINGLEGAL STATUSLIMITEDLIMITED LIABILITYLIMITED LIABILITY CORPORATIONSLITERATURELOCAL COMMUNITYMARKET ECONOMYMEDIAMENTAL HEALTHMODERN MEDICINEMORTALITYMUTUAL RECOGNITIONNATIONAL EFFORTSNATIONAL GOVERNMENTNATIONAL GOVERNMENTSNATURAL RESOURCESNEWS RELEASENUMBER OF CHILDRENOUTPUTSOWNERSHIP STRUCTURESPARTNERSHIPPEACEPERCEPTIONSPERFORMANCESPHILOSOPHYPLURALISMPOLICEPOLICY DISCUSSIONSPOLICY IMPLICATIONSPOLICY RESEARCHPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERPOLITICAL CONTROLPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOLITICAL INSTITUTIONSPOLITICAL ORGANIZATIONSPOLITICAL PARTIESPOLITICAL POWERPOLITICIANSPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENTPROCUREMENTPRODUCTIVITYPROGRESSPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC SERVICESRADIORAPERELIGIOUS GROUPSRENTSRESOURCE ALLOCATIONRESPECTRULE OF LAWRULE OF RECOGNITIONRURAL AREASRURAL COMMUNITIESSAFETYSANCTIONSCHOOLSSERVANTSSERVICE DELIVERYSOCIAL ACTIONSOCIAL COHESIONSOCIAL CONFLICTSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL INSTITUTIONSSOCIAL JUSTICESOCIAL MOVEMENTSSOCIAL NORMSSOCIAL PRACTICESSOCIAL SCIENCESOCIAL SCIENCESSOCIETIESSOCIETYSPECIALIZATIONSTAKEHOLDERSTOCKSSTORYTELLINGSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTTELEVISIONTHEATRETRADITIONTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERUNIONUNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUNDUNIVERSITIESVACCINESVIOLENCEWAGESWARSWORLD HERITAGEWORLD HERITAGE SITEWORLD POPULATIONWorld Bankhttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-5707