The Comparative Study of Rotating Credit Associations

作者：Shirley G. Ardener · 发表于：The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland · 年份：1964 · DOI：10.2307/2844382 · 被引用次数：468 · 研究领域：Microfinance and Financial Inclusion

THE TERM 'rotating credit association', as used by Geertz (i 962), seems to be the most apt so far devised for institutions which have previously been called esusu or contribution clubs, or have been included in the wider groups of thrift, loan, and benevolent associations. A satisfactory definition is still lacking. For example, Geertz writes: 'The basic principle upon which the rotating credit association is founded is everywhere the same: a lump sum fund composed of fixed contributions from each member of the association is distributed, at fixed intervals and as a whole, to each member in turn' (Geertz I 962, P. 243). This description is too restrictive, and does not allow the inclusion of all the examples quoted by Geertz himself. Contributions are not, in fact, always fixed (see, for example, the case from Keta, Ghana, in Little I957, PP. 579-96), and the whole of the lump sum is not always received by a member (see, for instance, Ardener, S. I953). Further, the use of the term 'sum' is not satisfactory, as it may seem to imply that contributions can be made only in cash and not (in part or in whole) in kind, as with some Japanese or Chinese associations (Embree I946, p. I4I, among others). The wide variety of structure found, not only in different communities, but sometimes within one single community, makes it necessary to pare to essentials any definition which is to be comprehensive, in order to isolate the common elements. I would suggest the simple one: An associat...