Windfall and Socially Distributed Willpower: The Psychocultural Dynamics of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations in a Bengkulu Village

Abstract

Rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) occur in myriad forms around the world. ROSCAs promote saving and make capital available. However, psychocultural factors distinct from monetary concern make both the existence of ROSCAs possible and participation in them attractive. This article analyzes the arisan, a ROSCA in Bengkulu, Sumatra. Psychocultural factors that inhibit mobility and prevent cheating make the arisan feasible. The arisan is popular because, through a process of socially distributed willpower congruent with familiar mechanisms of behavior regulation, it aids individuals in overcoming a weak ability to defer gratification. The arisan also allows individuals to sidestep prescribed sharing by exploiting the same values of reciprocity. Part of the arisan's appeal lies in its ability to create rewarding experiences by evoking both the culturally marked event of obtaining a windfall and the related thrill of gambling. This analysis demonstrates that economic behavior must be understood in the context of the culturally patterned motives that shape action.