Background on the Economy and the Problems of Credit Transacting in Afghanistan

First part of this chapter provides an overview of the Afghan economy and the main types of economic actors. It surveys the common characteristics of businesses in the country and highlights the social context in which businesses operate. The second part describes the main problems of credit transacting in the country: Volatility of environment in which businesses operate, informality of property rights, and uncertainty of contract enforcement. The description of the fundamental problems of credit transacting in Afghanistan provides the criteria against which the formal and informal trade and credit institutions are assessed in the subsequent chapters of this book.