Civic activism and social accountability - a quantitative approach

This chapter argues that the understanding of the role of civil society in development can be strengthened with quantitative analysis. The argument uses an example of a comprehensive regression analysis of the role of civic activism in government accountability. Is shows the value added of a quantitative approach through the estimation of absolute and relative size effects, signs, and statistical significance of a wide set of relevant dependent and independent variables. But is also acknowledges the weaknesses of a quantitative approach, in particular in the area of civil society where not everything that matters can be measured. The chapter therefore pleas for the complementarity of qualitative and quantitative analysis in the study of civil society and development.