Go to AfricaBib home

Go to AfricaBib home AfricaBib Go to database home

bibliographic database
Line
Previous page New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Rotating Saving and Credit Associations in Rural East Africa
Author:Kimuyu, Peter KikoISNI
Year:1999
Periodical:World Development
Volume:27
Issue:7
Period:July
Pages:1299-1308
Language:English
Geographic terms:Kenya
Tanzania
Subjects:self-help associations
credit
Economics and Trade
Development and Technology
External link:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(99)00049-2
Abstract:Theoretical arguments suggest that rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) improve welfare by reducing the utility cost of saving for a consumer durable. This article examines participation in ROSCAs by households in rural East Africa. Data collected in 1991-1992 in two communities in Kenya (Murang'a District in the Central Province) and Tanzania (the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro) reveal major differences in the incidence of ROSCA participation, arising from differences in the level of market penetration and perceptions about the efficacy of alternative strategies for compensating for failures in the local financial markets. Participation in ROSCAs in these communities is partly driven by the need to raise school fees, meet medical expenses and buy food. ROSCA funds are also used to start or promote small businesses and acquire assets, including livestock. Households owning smaller landholdings and those enjoying higher expenditures are more likely to participate in ROSCAs. The number of schemes in which a household participates is related to the main uses of ROSCA funds while contributions and value of receipts are determined by total expenditures and frequency of turns respectively. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum.
Views
Cover