Into the Red: The Birth of the Credit Card Market in Postcommunist Russia

Alya Guseva

Published by Stanford University Press 2008

Into the Red

The Birth of the Credit Card Market in Postcommunist Russia

Alya Guseva

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804798211

Overview
Contents

About this book

Into the Red explores the emergence of a credit card market in post-Soviet Russia during the formative period from 1988 to 2007. Using an intricate framework, Guseva chronicles both the creation of a credit card market and the making of a mass consumer. These processes are placed in the context of the ongoing restructuring in postcommunist Russia and the expansion of Western markets and ideologies through the rest of the world.

Author / Editor information

Alya Guseva is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Her work explores the role of networks, institutions, and culture in the development of mass financial markets in the postcommunist world.

Reviews

Viviana A. Zelizer:
"If you think that globalization rapidly and inexorably converts people everywhere into eager consumers and that the availability of ready credit automatically drags consumers into crippling debt, read Alya Guseva's absorbing study of Russian credit card markets for quite a different view. In Guseva's rich, thoughtful study, it turns out that making risky markets requires serious social engineering to bring lenders, borrowers, and merchants into reliable relations of trust. Here a close analysis of a complicated economic process yield insights into social change."

Bennet A. Zelner:
"Guseva's clear and accessible account of the Russian experience, based on both written sources and semi-structured interviews that she conducted in Moscow between 1998 and 2005, should hold great appeal. Other readers will likely enjoy the book for the historical perspective and organizational insights it provides into the financial instrument whose use is so widespread—and whose function so central—in economies like that of the U.S. that its existence is simply taken for granted."

CHOICE:
"Guseva's excellent study of the credit card market in Russia reaffirms the argument against the free market approach to changes taking place in Russia. Markets are not established as a result of announcements, but rather as a process requiring the co-development of necessary institutions, Guseva reminds the reader. ... The clear, persuasive writing style entails some prior knowledge of economic sociology."

Simone Polillo:
"Guseva's masterful account of the emergence of the Russian credit card market is as illuminating as it is provocative, and it will surely be a must-read for those who have an interest in how the dynamics and institutions of credit interact in a capitalist economy."

Bruce G. Carruthers:
"This timely and stimulating book sheds light on the organizational and social origins of credit, not just in Russia but around the world. Anyone with an interest in how credit economies work will want to read Into the Red."

Juliet Johnson:
"Alya Guseva's excellent book Into the Red represents the first full-length scholarly analysis of postcommunist credit card markets. Drawing on unique and extensive field research in Russia, Guseva convincingly demonstrates why the Russian credit card market has evolved so differently from that of the United States and other capitalist economies. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of contemporary postcommunist financial systems."

Gerald McDermott, Wharton School:
"Alya Guseva proves herself as a serious scholar matching intellectual depth with careful detail. Analysis of market creation and institutional emergence demands the fieldwork and creativity that few like Guseva displays. Into the Red will make a significant contribution to institutional change and market creation in general, in emerging markets, and, especially, in postcommunist countries."

Michael P. Sacks:
"The book makes an important contribution to literature on globalization and the impact of the market economy. Her analysis of consumers, banks and credit agencies is made even more significant in light of the way in which unmanageable debt appears so closely linked to the current global economic collapse."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Tables and Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
chapter one. The Architecture of Credit Card Markets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
chapter two. Market Building in the Transitional Context Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
chapter three. Setting the Stage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	45
chapter four. Inner Circles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
chapter five. The Stick But No Carrot Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	83
chapter six. The Carrot, at Last Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	100
chapter seven. The Missing Piece of the Puzzle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	127
chapter eight. The Russian Credit Card Market Through the Lens of Continuity and Change Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	146
Appendix: Data and Methodology Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195

Language: English
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 224
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 13

eBook

Published: April 1, 2008
ISBN: 9780804798211