Grassroots organizations and NGOs in rural development: Opportunities with diminishing states and expanding markets

This article undertakes to deal systematically with nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and grassroots organizations (GROs), usually treated as a residual category. Ten levels for development decision making and action are identified in the tradition of central place theory. Three of these are considered ″local″ or ″grassroots″ because of their collective action possibilities. Then, three sectors are delineated, instead of the usual two. NGOs are part of the collective action sector which differs from the public and private sectors in theoretically consistent ways. A careful distinction is made between institutions and organizations, usually conflated in the literature. Examples of accelerated rural development through grassroots organizations and NGOs are discussed form Asia, Africa, and Latin America.