Many academics consider self-help groups as an important factor in the resurgence of democratic life in society. The academic debate on self-help groups however, neglects the contextual connection of these groups. The article is based on a two-fold piece of research in Belgium on self-help groups. The image and the position of self-help groups for breast cancer patients is examined. On the one hand, a quantitative network analysis shows the place of the group within the official medical health care network. On the other, this analysis is complemented by qualitative interviews on breast cancer patients. From these two analyses, some marked differences are detected between the positive image of self-help groups in academic literature and the personal views of their target group (breast cancer patients).

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Survey evidence suggests that many U.S. and European consumers do not spend a lot of time comparing mortgage products. We show, however, that mortgage shopping is associated with a substantial monetary payoff, using a unique data set from a website where borrowers (not the lenders) can post their complete set of received mortgage rate offers. A borrower who shops for five mortgage offers is able to save 7,078 euros in net present value on average. The potential savings suggest suboptimal mortgage shopping as the opportunity cost of time to renegotiate additional quotes is unlikely to be that high.