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Informal Finance and the Urban Poor: An Investigation of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations in Turkey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2010

ŞEBNEM EROĞLU
ŞEBNEM EROĞLU*
Affiliation:
Honorary Research Fellow in Urban Studies, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NF email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This study focuses on the organisation among poor households of rotating savings and credit associations locally known in Turkey as gün. Based on a longitudinal study of 17 households, the research demonstrates the distinctive ability of various güns to operate smoothly under inflationary conditions. Unlike the predominant portrayal of güns as a leisure activity for middle-class women, they are shown to act as a self-welfare instrument whereby poor households acquire the discipline of saving towards both their consumption and investment needs. Contrary to the conventional view, these households are found to use güns in circumstances where formal credit and savings options are available.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , July 2010 , pp. 461 - 481
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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