7 August 2020

New blog looks at social consequences of a cashless economy

Blog

Researchers at the Department of Anthropology have launched a new blog, which discusses the social consequences of the gradual global transition to a cashless economy. The focus is on lives and livelihoods of the cash-reliant and indebted urban poor.

Cash and receipt
Photo: Camilla Ida Ravnbøl

What are the implications for the urban poor when the economy goes digital, and credit cards and online payments replace coins and banknotes? This is the key question behind a new blog 'After money, what is debt?' launched by researchers at the Department of Anthropology in collaboration with international colleagues.

The blog was launched in connection with the recent 2020 online conference organised by The European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA). The special session focused on the global move towards cashless economies and its impact on marginalised groups, communities and families, and the elaborate presentations by some of the panel participants form the core of the new blog.

The ambition here is to disseminate new knowledge in the research field, not only to other researchers, but also to the wider public.

“We have initiated the blog out of a curiosity to exchange knowledge and experiences with a broader community that work with the idea of cashlessness and urban poverty, including the industry, policy-makers and NGOs. Through these short blog posts, we have already gained new insight on the local consequences of global digital financial initiatives,” says Camilla Ida Ravnbøl, postdoc at the Department of Anthropology.

The blog is part of the interdisciplinary research project on the same theme, led by Atreyee Sen, Associate Professor at the Department of Anthropology.

Through ethnographic field studies in Denmark, Romania, Brazil and India, the project examines how poor urban populations experience and react to the transition to a cashless economy, and how debt often structures this change. However, the new blog also includes posts engaging with broader economic perspectives, including the introduction of bitcoins, other cryptocurrencies and credit scoring.

The blog will be updated from time to time with new contributions.

Read the blog: https://aftermoney.dk/ (no longer available)

Read more about the research project research project.

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