Windfall and Socially Distributed Willpower

The Psychocultural Dynamics of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations in a Bengkulu Village

Bibliographic Data

ID2474655
AuthorsDaniel M T Fessler (0000-0002-7795-7500, University of California, Los Angeles, corresponding author)
Year2002
Volume30
Issue1-2
Pages25-48
Publication date2002-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthos (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-2131 • E-ISSN: 1548-1352
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1525/eth.2002.30.1-2.25
OpenAlexW2160487163
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited114

Rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) occur in myriad forms around the world. ROSCAs promote saving and make capital available. However, psychocultural factors distinct from monetary concern make both the existence of ROSCAs possible and participation in them attractive. This article analyzes the arisan, a ROSCA in Bengkulu, Sumatra. Psychocultural factors that inhibit mobility and prevent cheating make the arisan feasible. The arisan is popular because, through a process of socially distributed willpower congruent with familiar mechanisms of behavior regulation, it aids individuals in overcoming a weak ability to defer gratification. The arisan also allows individuals to sidestep prescribed sharing by exploiting the same values of reciprocity. Part of the arisan's appeal lies in its ability to create rewarding experiences by evoking both the culturally marked event of obtaining a windfall and the related thrill of gambling. This analysis demonstrates that economic behavior must be understood in the context of the culturally patterned motives that shape action

Capital (architecture · Gratification · Reciprocity · Islamic Finance and Banking Studies · Islamic Finance and Communication · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion

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