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This paper was prepared by Anthony C Ndjovu a Masters Student of Research and Public Policy at University of Dar-Es-Salaam
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INTRODUCTION
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Civil society is often described as the “third sector”, a domain outside market and state which contributes economic participation. Its strength can have a positive economic influence on the state and the market. Other scholars such as Adam Smith and Marx in identifying civil society primarily as economic interaction through the market and hence civil society acting as the agent for promoting economic development in country by stimulating good governance like transparency, effectiveness, openness, responsiveness and accountability. Therefore key features of successful civil society which emanate from various definitions include the following: separation from the state and the market; formed by people who have common needs, interests and values like tolerance, inclusion, cooperation and equality; and development through a fundamentally endogenous and autonomous process which cannot easily be controlled from outside. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the functions or economic roles of civil society.
Firstly, Civil society is often associated with its advocacy role. Civil society can identify problems that are not addressed by the economic elite and bring them to public attention, thereby creating public opinion, awareness and change. In many countries ,NGOs have taken on a “watchdog” function, they monitor consumers’ rights, freedom of speech, ecological matters or anti-corruption schemes and generally act as bodies that hold the politicians accountable. These issues are both represented by local civil society organizations.
Secondly, Economists often refer to civil society when investigating the development of social capital (sees Glaeseret al.2002). Participation in civil society organizations gives individuals the opportunity to develop as they meet and work with people outside their own group, class, work environment which strengthens social cohesion. Large parts of civil society is engaged in the expressive function like theatre companies, Facebook groups, book clubs and fill an important role in forming and diversifying social capital.
Thirdly, In many countries,civil society is an important economic actor in itself generating employment and value added. This is seldom mentioned in standard analysis of economic development. However, in many countries the third sector is an important contributor to growth. As reported by Ghaus-Pasha (2005: 4-5) a survey of 36 countries by John Hopkins University shows that the civil society sector in the surveyed countries spent ,on average, 5.4 per cent of GDP and employed an equivalent of 4.4 per cent of economically active population in the period 1995-2000. According to another report by John Hopkins University (2013) non-profit organizations are a major source of employment growth globally and in some countries its employment share is as high as 10 per cent.
Fourth, Civil society is important for absorbing and giving structure and strength to citizens’ “voice”. That a society can absorb the voice of its citizens is deemed positive for the economic development. The concept of “voice” in economic literature comes from the theory of Exit, Voice and Loyalty of Albert O. Hirschman (1970). Hirschman takes his starting point in standard economic theory and attempts to explain behaviour that is not predicted by standard economic models. That market actors expresses “voice”, i.e. trying to influence quality of goods and services instead of just choosing another provider. “Exit” is the predicted behaviour for an economic agent that is unsatisfied with a good or service, at least in a competitive environment where there are alternatives. Hirschman also introduces the concept of “loyalty” as a bridge between exit and voice. If the individual has a loyalty bond with the organization or company that he/she is dissatisfied with there is a greater chance he/she will try to use voice to improve the situation before using the exit option. Translated into a economic setting “voice” is how civil society (in the form of organizations) tries to influence the government and get their prioritized issue on the agenda. Civil society may strengthen “voice” in a society by giving more strength, structure and sustainability to certain ideas and movements. It strengthens voice and makes individuals refrain from exit by offering organized channels of expression, protest and a party for negotiation with the power. For that reason a strong civil society is seen as an important ingredient of democracy. It can also provide alternative goods and services which increases welfare.
Finally, some civil society organizations complement or replace the state in certain functions and regulation. In many countries, for instance,in Sweden, trade unions and employer organizations are fully responsible for wage negotiations within a framework set by the state. Another example of when the state has delegated regulative functions are the occurrence of certain professional associations that certify their members right to operate in their profession with a certain title, e.g. lawyers, auditors, so called “self-regulation”. Therefore, civil society plays positive role in economic especially in economic development and all these efforts has a strong potential of improving life quality for different groups of society by providing more individually adjusted services and by assessing and auditing commercial and public activities. It is also, a backbone for strong citizen participation.

REFERENCES
Glaeseret L. “Using Experimental Economics to Measure Social Capital and Predict Financial Decisions” American Economic Review,2002.
Ghaus-Pasha ,Aisha. “Civil Society, Different Functions and Importance for Economic Development Journal of International Development, 2005.
Hirschman, Albert O. (1970) “Exit ,Voice and Loyalty” Harvard University Press, Cambridge Ma. USA & London, UK.
Website Source http://www.academia.edu/6964465/Civil_Society_Different_Functions_and_its_Importance_for_Economic_Development._Prepared_for_Higher_School_of_Economics_XV_international_conference_April_ 2014 http://ccss.jhu.edu/wpcontent/uploads/downloads/2013/04/JHUGlobal-Civil-Society volunteering FINAL 3.2013.pdf, (accessed 11 November 2013).