The role of rural indebtedness in the evolution of capitalism

Soft budgets and elastic debt: farm liabilities in the agrarian political economy of post-Soviet Tajikistan

“…In an agrarian context, debt has often been associated with the commodification of agriculture and contract farming schemes (McMichael 2013;Watts 1994;Gerber 2014). From the perspective of institutional economics, contract farming is regarded as a way to minimise transaction costs and the possibility of market failure (Djanikbekov et al 2013).…”

“…With production risks left to the farmer, a fluctuating production season may result in perpetually increasing debt. These, in turn, may force farmers into treadmills of production, with the risk of dispossession (Gerber 2014). 'The contract … defines the social space of autonomy and subordination that the grower occupies in relation to the labour process.…”

“…Verdery 2003;Trevisani 2007;Allina-Pisano 2008) and the scholarly debates on debt, agrarian debt and debt peonage (cf. Graeber 2011;Gerber 2014;Guérin 2013).…”

Small-scale cooperative banking and the production of capital: Reflecting on the role of institutional agreements in supporting rural livelihood in Kampot, Cambodia

“…However, decisions regarding which economic processes are produced using the associated capital fund can be expected to impact both community and environment. SSCB does not automatically confront the classic exploitative dynamics of cycles of credit and debt accumulation, which can have long-term consequences not only for the community but also for the environment (Gerber, 2014). Preexisting inequalities may even be exacerbated by SSCB, because it also produces the capacity to accumulate capital.…”

“…Although we lack sufficient data to provide a complete explanation for the extreme skewing, one factor is probably the presence of newer members who have not yet accumulated savings. However, it is also possible that the inclusion of local elites who already held financial capital before the establishment of the banking system has skewed the base and also fostered unequal rates of capital accumulation across the membership (Gerber, 2014). Since interest money flows to creditors on a proportional basis in this banking system, those holding a larger capital share receive a larger share of this rent and members who started with more individual capital accumulate additional capital more quickly.…”