Significados múltiples y contradictorios del sobreendeudamiento. Un estudio de caso de hogares en pobreza rural en Tamil Nadu, sur de la India

Isabelle Guérin (1) , Roesch Marc (2) , Govindan Venkatasubramanian (3) , Santosh Kumar (3)

1 IRD [Nouvelle-Calédonie] - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
2 Agricultural Research Centre for International Development
3 IFP - Institut Français de Pondichéry

Multiple and Conflicting Meanings of Households’ Over-Indebtedness. A Study Case of poor Rural South Indian Households in tamil NaduBased on a study case in rural South-India, this paper argues that over-indebtedness as a definition cannot be restricted to processes of material impoverishment, but the consequences of debt for social status also matters: borrowers value and rank debts according to losses and gains of self-respect and dignity. The social meaning of debt depends upon pre-existing relationships between debtors and creditors, and debt in turn strengthens, preserves and sometime challenges pre-existing positions within local hierarchies.

Mots clés: Debt; Over-indebtedness; Power; Identity; India

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Isabelle Guérin, Roesch Marc, Govindan Venkatasubramanian, Santosh Kumar. Significados múltiples y contradictorios del sobreendeudamiento. Un estudio de caso de hogares en pobreza rural en Tamil Nadu, sur de la India. Desacatos. Revistas de ciencias sociales, 2014, 44, pp. 35-50. ⟨halshs-03101790⟩