Martin Reiser made an overview of empirical proofs for social capital and analyzed economic indices in transitional economies. He proved that low social involvement and an undeveloped civil society are obstacles in the transition of a country to a higher economic level. The reason is that the level of trust among people and the level of mutual trust between people and the state depends upon the activity of civil society.

The goal of the meeting was to analyze the level of trust in various countries and its influence on the efficiency of an economy. Taking into consideration the low level of trust in Ukraine, the participants of the seminar expressed their views regarding the most important issues necessary for its development. The participants of the round table were businessmen, owners, representatives of UCU’s Lviv Business School, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and leading foreign experts, among whom was Marc Hardy, PhD, Director of Non-Profit Administrative Programs of the University of Notre Dame (USA).