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An Economy of Miracle: Rotating Credit and Savings Associations in Townships of Johannesburg
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An Economy of Miracle: Rotating Credit and Savings Associations in Townships of Johannesburg
Annotation
PII
S086954150004879-6-
DOI
10.31857/S086954150004879-6
Publication type
Article
Status
Published
Authors
Daria A. Zelenova 
ORCID: 0000-0002-5237-4413
Affiliation: National Research University “Higher School of Economics”
Address: 20 Myasnitskaya St., Moscow, 101000, Russia
Vladislav V. Kruchinsky
ORCID: 0000-0001-5036-8194
Affiliation: MGIMO University
Address: 76 Vernadsky prospekt, Moscow, 119454, Russia
Edition
№2
Pages
78-97
Abstract

The article examines the phenomenon of South African stokvels and burial societies and the transformations that these associations are currently undergoing. Drawing on the sociocultural analysis of economic action, the article investigates the topic of mutuality by looking at the contemporary development in the field of rotating savings and credit associations in South Africa. The article is based on field research conducted in Gauteng Province, South Africa, in October–November 2014, 2015, 2017. We argue that, in the mid-2010s, conventional stokvels and burial societies are becoming the characteristic feature of the “normalized” life of the middle classes, whereas the representatives of the urban underclass are increasingly engaging in the digital Ponzi schemes as a means of day-to-day survival, but also in the pursuit of the magical “instant enrichment”. 

Keywords
South Africa, mutual aid, economic informality, rotating credit and savings associations, self-organization, stokvel
Acknowledgment
This research was supported by the following institutions and grants: Russian Foundation for Humanities, https://doi.org/10.13039/100009094 [grant no. 13-31-01284]
Date of publication
25.05.2019
Number of purchasers
89
Views
783
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0.0 (0 votes)
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S086954150004879-6-1 Дата внесения правок в статью - 23.04.2019
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