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On the saf(v)e side – informal economic associations and future aspirations in the Ethiopian diaspora

Subject Area Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology
Term from 2021 to 2024
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 448558594
 
Final Report Year 2024

Final Report Abstract

In recent years several anthropologists have emphasized that social anthropology could make an enormous contribution to the study of the future, and that it need not be confined to the present and past. Further calls have also been made for anthropological studies to focus more on the ‘good’, rather than on the harsh dimensions of life (power, domination, inequality, and oppression), which are the subject of what Sherry Ortner (2016) calls ‘dark anthropology’. Our project therefore looked at how people work towards a ‘good life’ and a ‘good future’ through informal practices of saving and insurance. Even though the first studies on such as savings and insurance associations suspected that they would disappear as soon as developed financial institutions were available, such informal economic institutions seem as vibrant today as ever. Their members seem to be drawn from all socio-economic classes, and the institutions themselves provide financial and social support in diaspora communities. Shirley Ardener – who has been following the changes and continuities of informal savings associations in comparative perspective for more than four decades – foresees that they have a promising future. This view is underlined by recent research and publications, especially by economists. In “Transforming Africa”, Dana Redford and Grietjie Verhoef (2022) present current savings groups activities across Africa and how they contribute to financial inclusion and resilience. Caroline Shanaz Hossein, describes these associations as an integral part of the Black social economy in the Black diaspora as well as of social and solidarity economics in the Global South. Ethiopia is a particularly good place to investigate savings and insurance associations as they are particularly popular there and are also widespread in its diaspora, even in countries with diversified and comprehensive formal financial institutions. Currently, the country is in a challenging situation. Since the appointment of Abiy Ahmed as prime minister in 2018, a series of reforms intended to represent a paradigm shift towards greater political ‘openness’. This endeavour raised hopes that the changes initiated, would usher in a new era characterized by peace and the promotion of democratic principles in Ethiopia. Yet, despite the positive outlook for the country's future, these changes seem to have sparked a surge in ethnic turmoil and acts of violence. In addition, due to strong population growth, unemployment is high, especially among young people. To many of them migration seems to offer the hope of access to a ‘good life’, and certain savings associations contribute to making this step possible. Our project looks at the described savings and insurance associations in some of Ethiopia’s largest diaspora population in the US, Israel, UAE, Germany and Kenya. The comparative research shows how these associations were organized and adapted in the diaspora communities, and how differences in the new home countries (residence/legal status, racism, ...) affect these organizations and at the same time the members’ ideas of and plans for a ‘good life’ and future.

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