Anmerkungen:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments 2010 erstellt
Beschreibung:
A principal challenge for political scientists is to find concepts and frameworks to explain complex realities. Often, in developing contexts, it is through informal politics where unique phenomena take place, yet thinking in political science tends to focus, incorrectly, on formal institutions. Empirical data was collected through individual interviews, surveys and focus groups with a total of 307 persons in Kingston, Jamaica. Multiple methods can enhance field work and how we look at power. Qualitative methods, using intersectionality and political ethnography, were appropriate tools given the complexity of getting information from poor Black people divided by political strongholds or garrisons. To study microfinance without looking at identities in the Caribbean region misses the point why some persons are excluded (or self exclude themselves) from microfinance programs. As this study examines the role of informal institutions in Kingston, Jamaica an understanding of how these power dynamics operate requires careful observation and unorthodox methods