Robert Putnam endorses social capital as the essential step towards a good functioning government and a stable economy. Social capital can aid in overcoming dilemmas of collective action and irrelevant opportunism that occurs within a state and society. For Putnam voluntary cooperation is easier in a community that already has a significant stock of social capital, in the various forms of norms, reciprocity and networks of civic engagement. The definition of social capital can be interpreted as the "features of social organization, such as trust, norms, and networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions  (Putnam 185). Putnam stresses that like other forms of capital, social capital is productive, and facilitates the achievement of certain ends that would not be possible to attain in the absence of social capital. An example of its productivity is a "group whose members manifest trustworthiness and place extensive trust in one another will be able to accomplish much more than a comparable group lacking that trustworthiness and trust" (Putnam 185). Social capital endorses economic vitality in a state by spontaneous cooperation. A rotating credit association is an example of spontaneous cooperation. A rotating credit association consists of a group who "agree to make regular contributions to a fund which is given, in whole or in part, to each contributor in rotation  (Putnam 185). Rotating credit associations can be found in many different countries and involves all types of income and education levels. Here in the U.S., many savings and loans institutions began as rotating credit associations. The dilemma of a rotating credit association is making sure that all members of the group keep up their obligations. A member can easily quit the group after receiving their funds. To avoid this, organizers carefully select members with great caution. A reputation of being honest and reliable is a very important asset for any aspiring member to have. Strong norms can also be the catalyst against defection. According to Putnam "rotating credit associations illustrate how dilemmas of collective action can be overcome by drawing on external sources of social capital, for they "use pre-existing social connections between individuals to help circumvent problems of imperfect information and enforceability   (Putnam 187). In the economic aspect Putnam argues that rotating credit associations are a stepping stone towards a stable economy in a state because it involves trust and solidarity. Trust is a very important component of social capital. For example, in the civic region of Naples, Italy, social trust has been an important factor that has led to economic progress and a well functioning government. "Cooperation is often required-between legislature and executive, between workers and managers, among political parties, between the government and private groups, among small firms, and so on  (Putnam 188). The trust within the society of Naples enables cooperation and cooperation enables trust. Trust