Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Department

Finance

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

In this paper I attempt to analyze and explain the important of certain indigenous credit agreements in Botswana. Rotating Savings and Credit Associations are agreements made by a group of people who create a communal fund which rotates around the group until each member had had access to the pooled resource. These agreements are informal and most commonly found in the poorer traditional sectors of Botswana’s economy.

Furthermore, I attempt to explain why these agreements can be best understood using Elinor Ostrom’s common-pool resource analysis. This framework explains why these agreements are so successful in creating a source of capital, which is sustainable and long-enduring, for many entrepreneurs who belong to the poor sectors of the economy. Also, using this analysis, certain policy decisions can be critiqued as to how best to categorize and foster these indigenous institutions so that more people can have access to informal credit.

Advisor(s) or Committee Chair

Dr. Brian Strow

Disciplines

Business | International Business

Share

COinS