The role of networks in determining usage of community currencies in Kenya

ABSTRACT

Past studies have attributed the usage of community currencies to government support, community solidarity, business networks and social networks. Using a mixed-methods approach, this paper examines the role of networks in determining the usage of community currencies in an ethnically heterogeneous community. It argues that while networks are important in determining the usage of community currencies, it is not the presence of networks per se that is important, but the types of networks, the level of trust within them and the kind of information passed on within them, as well as the number of networks to which an individual belongs. The paper makes a contribution by offering a more nuanced view of the role of networks in the adoption of community currencies among the poor.

摘要

网络在决定肯尼亚社区货币使用上的作用. Area Development and Policy. 以往的研究将社区货币的使用归因于政府支持、社区团结、商业网络以及社会网络。本文运用混合研究方法分析了网络对在一个种族多样化的社区中使用社区货币的决定作用。本文认为，尽管网络在决定社区货币的使用上发挥了重要的作用，但重要的并不是网络本身的存在，而是网络的种类、网络中存在的信任程度、在网络中传递信息的种类，以及个人所属网络的数量。本文从更为细致的视角对网络在贫民区实行社区货币中的作用展开了分析。

RESUMEN

El papel de las redes al determinar el uso de las monedas comunitarias en Kenia. Area Development and Policy. En estudios anteriores se ha atribuido el uso de las monedas comunitarias al apoyo gubernamental, la solidaridad de la comunidad, las redes comerciales y las redes sociales. Mediante un enfoque de métodos combinados, en este artículo se analiza el papel de las redes a la hora de determinar el uso de las monedas comunitarias en una comunidad heterogénea desde un punto de vista étnico. Se argumenta que auque las redes son importantes para determinar el uso de las monedas comunitarias, lo que importa no es la presencia de las redes per se, sino los tipos de redes, el nivel de confianza que se tiene en las mismas y el tipo de información que se comunica entre ellas, así como el número de las redes a las que pertenece una persona. En el artículo se aporta una perspectiva más exhaustiva de la función de las redes al adoptar las monedas comunitarias entre las personas pobres.

Аннотация

Роль сетей в определении использования общинных валют в Кении. Area Development and Policy. В предшествующих исследованиях использование общинных валют объяснялось государственной поддержкой, солидарностью общин, деловыми сетями и социальными сетями. Используя смешанный подход, статья рассматривает роль сетей в определении использования общинных валют в этнически неоднородной общине. В статье утверждается, что, хотя сети важны для определения использования общинных валют, важно не наличие сетей как таковых, а типы сетей, уровень доверия внутри них и вид информации, которая передается внутри них, а также количество сетей, к которым принадлежит человек. Статья расширяет представление о роли сетей в принятии общинных валют среди бедных слоев населения.

KEYWORDS:

• community currencies
• complementary currencies
• Bangla-Pesa
• networks
• financial innovation

关键词:

• 社区货币
• 补充货币
• Bangla-Pesa（肯尼亚贫民区自制货币）
• 网络
• 金融创新

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• monedas comunitarias
• monedas complementarias
• Bangla-Pesa
• redes
• innovación financiera

Ключевые слова:

• общинные валюты
• комплементарные валюты
• Бангла-Песа
• сети
• финансовые инновации

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank Mr Will Ruddick, Dr Joseph Onjala, Dr Susan Johnson, Professor Lotte Thomsen, Mr Ravi Ruparel and Ms Kavita Shah for comments. Errors and omissions are the authors’ our own responsibility.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. CCs that have purely social goals may not aim at an expansion of scale (Fare & Ould Ahmed, 2017), but a high level of adoption within the community – even if the community itself is small – is useful for the economic benefits of CC to accrue to the users.

2. There are very few CCs in Africa – the CES in South Africa, the Doole in Senegal and the Time banks in Tunisia (Dissaux, 2014) – and research on CCs in sub-Saharan Africa  (SSA) is minimal.

3. Furthermore, it likely that CCs cannot reach the extremely marginalized members of communities who may not be in any networks.

4. Furreai Kippu is a mutual support network that provides social care for the elderly by exchanging time credits and sometimes cash payments. Its high usage has been attributed to a combination of networks and state backing and Japanese values of reciprocity (Hayashi, 2012).

5. When we use the term ‘trust’ here, we use it in a very narrow context of the relationship between different users of the CC, which encourages adoption of the currency. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that the definition, meaning and social basis of trust is still a highly debated issue amongst social scientists. For a good summary of the different debates on trust, see Harriss (2003).

6. 1 BP = 1 Kenyan shilling. At time of fieldwork, US$1 = 101 shillings; a 2 kg bag of maize meal, which is a staple food, usually costs between 70 and 90 shillings. Kenya shillings and BPs are used at the same time for most transactions. For instance, if someone were buying 50 shillings’ worth of mobile airtime, they could use 30 shillings and 20 BPs. As discussed above, the slum is mainly a food importer, with staples such as maize meal being brought in from outside. Residents, therefore, use their Kenya shillings first.

7. Nyumba Kumi is a community policing initiative that locals use to ensure that escaped criminals are not harboured within the slum. The police often patrol the villages and work with government officials to increase security.