Morocco’s Informal Economy: The Role of Rotating Savings in Rabat

Abstract

This research project is a case study concerned with how the practice of Rotational Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) function within Rabat, Morocco. Research was guided by the following questions: Why is this form of money management utilized? Who is the typical participant in ROSCAs? What sort of purchases are financed through this practice? And what does the changing popularity of ROSCAs mean for future generations? In order to begin answering these questions I collected considerable qualitative data throughout my four month long stay in the Medina of Rabat during Fall of 2019. I also supplemented this data with secondary research done on ROSCAs throughout the world and discussed topics such as the social economy, impacts of Islam, and Morocco’s wholistic economy. In this paper’s summation I review all the collected sources in order to comment on the value of ROSCAs in communities like Rabat, explore possible interferences with my work, and discuss the need for continued research on the topic.