Credit an Debt in an Unequal Society

210 Pages·2020·3.008 MB·English

by  Jürgen Schraten

Credit and Debt in an Unequal Society
3
The Human Economy
Series editor:
Keith Hart, University of Pretoria
Those social sciences and humanities concerned with the economy have lost
the confidence to challenge the sophistication and public dominance of the
field of economics. We need to give a new emphasis and direction to the
economic arrangements that people already share, while recognizing that
humanity urgently needs new ways of organizing life on the planet. This
series examines how human interests are expressed in our unequal world
through concrete economic activities and aspirations.
Volume 7
Credit and Debt in an Unequal Society: Establishing a Consumer Credit
Market in South Africa
Jürgen Schraten
Volume 6
Money at the Margins: Global Perspectives on Technology, Financial
Inclusion, and Design
Edited by Bill Maurer, Smoki Musaraj and Ivan Small
Volume 5
Money in a Human Economy
Edited by Keith Hart
Volume 4
From Clans to Coops: Confiscated Mafia Land in Sicily
Theodoros Rakopoulos
Volume 3
Gypsy Economy: Romani Livelihoods and Notions of Worth in the 21st
Century
Edited by Micol Brazzabeni, Manuela Ivone Cunha and Martin Fotta
Volume 2
Economy for and against Democracy
Edited by Keith Hart and John Sharp
Volume 1
4
People, Money, and Power in the Economic Crisis: Perspectives from the
Global South
Edited by Keith Hart and John Sharp
5
Credit and Debt in an Unequal
Society
Establishing a Consumer Credit Market in South
Africa
Jürgen Schraten
6
First published in 2020 by
Berghahn Books
www.berghahnbooks.com
© 2020 Jürgen Schraten
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for
the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book may be
reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written
permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Schraten, Jürgen, author.
Title: Credit and debt in a unequal society : establishing a consumer credit
market in South Africa / Jürgen Schraten.
Other titles: Human economy ; v.7.
Description: New York : Berghahn Books, 2020. | Series: The human
economy ; volume 7 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019044682 (print) | LCCN 2019044683 (ebook) | ISBN
9781789206388 (hardback) | ISBN 9781789206395 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Consumer credit--South Africa. | Consumer credit--Social
aspects--South Africa. | Debt--Social aspects--South Africa.
Classification: LCC HG3756.S6 .S37 2020 (print) | LCC HG3756.S6 (ebook)
| DDC 332.70968--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019044682
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019044683
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
ISBN 978 1 78920 638 8 hardback
7
ISBN 978-1-78920-638-8 hardback
ISBN 978-1-78920-639-5 ebook
8
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Notes on the Text
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1. Borrowing in the South African Consumer Credit Market
Chapter 2. Raising the Storm of a Free Consumer Credit Market
Chapter 3. The Institutional Framework: Implementing a Consumer Credit
Market
Chapter 4. Legislators’ Reactions to the Consumer Credit Market Crisis
Chapter 5. The Model of Rational Action in the South African Consumer
Credit Market
Conclusion. The Missed Options of the South African Consumer Credit
Market
References
Index
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Illustrations
Figures
1.1. Distribution of credit types.
1.2. Unsecured lending sales figures.
1.3. Share of long-term indebted customers.
5.1. Channel of lending interaction.
5.2. Risk assessment and affordability measurement.
5.3. Conflict resolution for borrowers.
5.4. Conflict resolution for lenders.
5.5. Price calculation according to Simmel.
5.6. Familiarization with price negotiation according to Simmel.
6.1. Model of distributed agency.
Tables
1.1. Extraction from an advertisement flyer.
1.2. Range of loan offers.
1.3. Costs of loan offers.
1.4. Demand side of the consumer credit market.
1.5. Supply side of the consumer credit market.
1.6. Low-income customers of the credit market.
1.7. Overview of lending and indebtedness, 2013–2014.
4.1. Market growth, 2002–2012.
4.2. Affordability measurement thresholds.
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Acknowledgements
The primary inspiration of this study is the Human Economy approach
developed and promoted by Keith Hart. His work brings the everyday
experiences of people back into the focus of economic research, and this
motivated me to analyse the institutional setting of a consumer credit market
from a sociological perspective. The fieldwork that built the foundation of
this study was conducted thanks to a fellowship of the Human Economy
programme at the University of Pretoria, generously funded by the Andrew
W. Mellon Foundation. This study shares the strong commitment to
democracy and humanitarianism that characterizes the work of Keith Hart.
Andreas Langenohl shaped much of my theoretical understanding of
sociology and social theory. He supervised the final conduct of this study,
which served as a postdoctoral habilitation treatise at the University of
Giessen but has been significantly revised. His advice and encouragement
were indispensable, and our discussions helped shaping the main insights of
this study. He is a great teacher, and it is a pleasure to be his colleague.
The late Helmut Dubiel, as our common mentor, formed my foundational
understanding of society with its special focus on the role of social conflicts
in a democracy. I miss him.
I thank Reimer Gronemeyer, who read the manuscript and served as a
supervisor of my habilitation. His dedication in giving the marginalized of
society a voice, especially in Southern Africa, motivates me.
John Sharp was responsible for providing a progressive and fruitful
research environment at the University of Pretoria, and his contributions to
the Human Economy approach influenced the direction of my research a great
deal.
Many colleagues at the University of Gießen contributed to the discussions
of the book. I want to thank Herbert Willems, Sebastian Giacovelli, Carola
Westermeier, Jens Maeße, Il-Tschung Lim, Eva Gros, Jörn Ahrens and
Thomas Linpinsel. Special thanks go to Carmen Ludwig for her extensive
personal and scientific support.
At the University of Pretoria the Human Economy programme built a
unique environment of research of the everyday economy, and I want to thank
Albert Farré, Theodore Powers, Tijo Salverda, Camille Sutton-Brown, Maud
Orne-Gliemann, Doreen Gordon, Mallika Shakya, Busani Mpofu, Detlev
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