Difference between revisions of "Chernaya kassa (Kyrgyzstan)"

|style="font-size:1.1em;"| ''Chernaya kassa'' in Kyrgyzstan is a method of voluntarily issuing informal credit (Neuhauser, 1993), similar to the rotating savings and credit associations ([[:Category:ROSCA|ROSCAs]]). The command economy of the Soviet Union was an ‘economy of shortage’ (Kornai 1980). It produced constraints on the role of money and did not offer any form of consumer credit, which led to the increase of non-cash transactions and informal rotating credit system of chernaya kassa (Gaddy and Ickes 1998). In Kyrgyzstan, chernaya kassa was especially important credit-issuing institution during the transition period followed after the collapse of the Soviet Union when most labour-active people, especially women, were involved in informal economy of ''bazaars'' to supplement family income (see Őzcan 2006, Cieślewska 2013). Similar to household exchanges of gifts and hospitality, at the time aimed at economic survival, ''chernaya kassa'' can be considered a ‘household [survival] strategy’ (Werner 1998: 598). During the post-Soviet period, savings supported travel expenses of family members for labour migration. ''Kassa'' members stayed behind to back up the costs of migration for children or close relatives. ''Chernaya kassa'' is a widely spread practice in post-Soviet Central Asia beyond Kyrgyzstan (Wolters 2014), as it became a reliable, manageable and widespread informal mechanism of obtaining credit.

The negative connotations related to ''chernaya kassa'' relate to political corruption, illicit party funds, and manipulation of the state budget by the elites (Barsukova and Zvyagintzev 2006, Zyryanova 2013, Gelman 2002) (see also [[cash for access]]). However, at a grassroots level in Kyrgyzstan, ''chernaya kassa'' has a positive image and is associated with mutual help. In contrast with ROSCAs, Kyrgyz ''chernaya kassa'' is connected to a tradition of laying food and drinks on the floor and often accompanied by spreading a ''dastorkon'', a traditional tablecloth used to serve food. On the occasion of rotating the savings, people get together over dinner or lunch, usually organized and paid for by the individual receiving savings. ''Chernaya kassa'' usually takes place once a month, and involve families, colleagues, classmates, relatives, neighbours, alumni or friends in a group of ten to twelve, who collect savings in turn and without any interest rates. Similar to [[tandas or cundinas]] in the northern part of Mexico and the south-west of the United States and [[gap]] in Uzbekistan, ''chernaya kassa'' in Kyrgyzstan, is more common among women (Kandiyoti 1998). For female entrepreneurs ''chernaya kassa'' is a good opportunity to advertise and sell their goods or services among the ''kassa'' members (Turaeva 2018).