Consumer Credit as an Aspect of Everyday Life of Workers in Developing Countries

Abstract

This paper addresses the question of how consumer credit has become a part of daily life of wage earners in the age of financialization by drawing on the experience of Turkey. Given the dearth of information in this area, it draws on fieldwork conducted among metal workers. In particular, the paper analyzes how consumer credit has become a part of daily life of workers, driven by socio-economic and institutional factors. The results show that consumer debt in Turkey has become a part of the daily life of workers as a consequence of, first, growing dependence on debt to support basic reproduction of labor power, and second, of the banks’ increasing orientation towards consumer lending. These findings also signal the deepening of the already unequal power relation between banks and wage earners.

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