'Better a Hundred Friends than a Hundred Rubles?' is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion.

The study of social networks in post-socialist countries is an important tool for bridging the policy gap between macro-level economic strategies and micro-level interventions. Better a Hundred Friends than a Hundred Rubles? examines the impact of economic transition and poverty on social networks in the Central Asian country of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The findings of...