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Social Capital as Collateral: Banking on the Poor
Author(s) -
Geleta Esayas Bekele
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american journal of economics and sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.199
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1536-7150
pISSN - 0002-9246
DOI - 10.1111/ajes.12070
Subject(s) - social reproduction , social capital , collateral , economics , financial capital , social mobility , individual capital , reproduction , capital (architecture) , economic capital , sociology , social status , social inequality , inequality , economic system , neoclassical economics , finance , economic growth , social science , human capital , history , ecology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology , biology
Group‐based micro finance is a field in which the place of social capital in development has been given a central focus. The formation of micro group is based on tapping into the information that group members have about each other, thus relying on social capital. Group‐based micro finance has also been explained as a means of creating social capital. This article, drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's conception of social capital, in contrast to the widely accepted notion of it, critically examines the link between social capital and group‐based micro finance. It argues that group‐based MF is not favored by the marginalized poor, and it serves as a mechanism in the production and reproduction of social conflict and inequality.