TY  - JOUR
TI  - Reason-giving for resistance: obfuscation, justification and earmarking in resisting informal financial assistance
AU  - McNeill, Kristen
AU  - Pierotti, Rachael
PY  - 2021
PB  - Oxford University Press (OUP)
LA  - eng
AB  - AbstractMonetary assistance is a common request from social ties and can be both an economic lifeline and a financial burden. This study examines the relational work at the heart of such exchanges, examining when and how attempts at mobilizing informal financial assistance are resisted. Using qualitative data from West African factory workers, we demonstrate that individuals who wish to resist the provision of assistance without causing relational damage employ rhetorical strategies designed to justify or obfuscate their refusal, relying heavily on socially legitimate reason-giving. The findings reveal that subjective calculations of resource availability are central to the mobilization of assistance, resistant givers differentiate between justification and obfuscation of refusals, and earmarks can play a role in protecting resources from social demands. More broadly, these findings suggest ways that a differential ability to resist social capital mobilization may generate inequalities within social groups.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwab034
DO  - 10.1093/ser/mwab034
T2  - Socio-economic review
VL  - 21
IS  - 1
SN  - 1475-147X
SN  - 1475-1461
SP  - 159-181
UR  - https://www.pollux-fid.de/r/cr-10.1093/ser/mwab034
H1  - Pollux (Fachinformationsdienst Politikwissenschaft)
ER  -