Vardagsekonomi på 2 dollar per dag

The Economist skriver intressant om tillvaron för dem som tjänar runt $2 per dag:

Even if you earn just $2 a day, chances are you'll earn $5 one day and zero the next. So the image of living hand to mouth is often inaccurate. Poor people must have some savings to survive, but many lack access to traditional banking. They end up resorting to elaborate ways to transfer wealth across time. Often this means simply stuffing money in their mattress or using a money guard (another person to hold the money for them). But this leaves their savings vulnerable to theft and fire.

Och avslutar artikeln:

We often underestimate what it takes to survive being poor.

Och det är definitivt så. Jag trodde för övrigt att mikrolån var en av de bästa metoderna att bota fattigdom, men tryggad tillgång till ägodelar kommer självfallet ännu tidigare i behovstrappan.

På samma tema länkade Johan Norberg tidigare till ett spel där man i Sim City-stil får prova att hantera en fattig landsbygdsfamiljs ekonomi. Att tipsa om spelet känns lite grann som när KSMB i But we have no bananas (finns att lyssna på på KSMB:s Myspacesida) undrar ifall Gösta Bohman "sett ett barn svälta ihjäl", men det ger en ögonöppnare i det lilla.

Och vidare gällande bankverksamhet i U-länder så finns en förstahandsupplevelse beskriven hos Kids Prefer Cheese:

even on good days, i have to psych myself up for the bank. i wish you could see this hell hole. people dont know how to form lines so its just a big mass of people pushing and shoving. its awful. and hot and sweaty and very inefficient. you push your bank book at the teller and then they look at it, look at you and hand you a small metal circle with a number on it. after about 40 minutes (usually) your number will flash up above the paying tellers desk. oh, but the numbers dont go in order. like 3 will flash followed by 356 followed by 74. and they often have mismatched bankbooks with numbers so you have to check that you are getting your bank book and the actual amount you requested back. Its lots of fun (insert major major rolling of eyes here)