Networks in the Global Village examines how people live through personal communities: their networks of friends, neighbors, relatives, and coworkers. It is the first book to compare the communities of people around the world.

Major social differences between and within the First, Second, and Third Worlds affect the opportunities and insecurities with which individuals and households must deal; the supportive resources they seek; and the ways in which markets, institutions, and networks structure access to these resources. Each article, written by a resident, shows how living in a country affects the ways in which people use networks to access resources.