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This paper outlines some lessons that policy makers can learn from China and Vietnam. Both countries developed low cost rural health services during the period between the early 1950s and the mid-1970s. Their example strongly influenced international health policy, and lessons from these case studies will have relevance to policy-makers in other low and middle income countries who are asking fundamental questions about how services should be financed, the relationship between service providers and government, and the role of the state in ensuring that health services are cost-effective and equitable [Author's abstact, adapted]

This study explores the usage of participatory methods for policy research by comparing and contrasting these findings with those from more conventional household consumption and expenditure surveys. It shows how using these measures leads to different conclusions about the causes and nature of poverty. The study goes on to discuss the concept of social capital at the local level, providing quantifiable evidence that village-level social capital (defined as membership in groups with particular characteristics) significantly affects household welfare