This volume explores problems related to processes of importation and adaptation of Western cultural and institutional models and their effects on social structures. Among these problems, those related to the permanence of reciprocity ties in official institutions and their correlates, such as clientelism and corruption, stand out. The book will appeal to social scientists concerned with analytical problems and theoretical advances in relation to the issues at hand, as well as the wider public concerned with the trends and results of the importation of Western models in the processes of transforming social structures, especially in "extra-Western" societies.