Why do savings institutions differ within the same region? The role of environment and social capital in the creation of savings arrangements in Eastern Burkina Faso

The paper describes two different savings arrangements around cattle that have been developed in two villages in the eastern region of Burkina Faso and raises the question of why two forms have evolved in the same region, populated by the same ethnic groups, and where crop and livestock production systems are similar. It is argued that while the general system of keeping savings in cattle developed out of specific social, economic and environmental trends within the 20th Century, the difference between the two systems is due to social capital endowments and environmental characteristics. The paper is based on 3 years of fieldwork between 1995 and 1998 and makes use of observation, key informant interviews and a budget study of 35 married individuals over a 2-year period.