Abstract

MARQUES, Eduardo. Do social networks matter for the access to goods and services obtained outside markets?. Rev. bras. ciênc. soc. [online]. 2010, vol.5Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0102-6909.

This article discusses the role of social networks and sociability in poor people's access to goods and services obtained from outside the markets. The article uses qualitative information from research into social networks of poor individuals living in segregated places in São Paulo, as well as a control group of middle-class individuals. The results show the importance of networks and suggest that the help that mediates such access depends upon the types of ties and trust involved, as well as the cost of providing the help. The observed processes tend to reiterate inequalities, establishing circularities of poverty reproduction.

Keywords : Poverty; Sociability; Social networks; São Paulo.