Economic Anthropology

Morgan M S 2001 Economics. In: Porter R (eds.) The Cambridge and contextually rich information on economic ac-
History of Science, Vol. 7, Modern Social and BehaŠioral tivities worldwide. The way in which anthropologists
Sciences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK reacted to the confrontation of this diversity and how
Qin D 1993 The Formation of Econometrics: A Historical
they coped with it in theoretical terms, generated most
PerspectiŠe. Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK
Qin D 1996 Bayesian econometrics: The first twenty years. debates within economic anthropology.
Econometric Theory 12: 5500–51
Qin D, Gilbert C L 2001 The error terms in the history of time-
series econometrics. Econometric Theory 17: 424–50 2. The Intellectual Debates
M. S. Morgan and D. Qin The major debates in economic anthropology have
centered around (a) the universal applicability of
Western generated categories of analysis, (b) the
question of value, (c) the question of history and
connectedness between polities, and (d) the weight of
Economic Anthropology culture (meaning) in economic processes.
Economic anthropology studies how human societies
provide the material goods and services that make life 2.1 Western Categories of Analysis
possible. In the course of material provisioning and
during the realization of final consumption, people The main debate took place between those anthro-
relate to each other in ways that convey power and pologists who considered that the postulates of mar-
meaning. ginalist economics, that is, the rational (optimizing)
allocation of (scarce) resources between alternative
uses, were of universal application (Firth 1970); and
1. A Definition those anthropologists who, following Polanyi (1957),
thought that the theory of rational action in regard to
The degree to which something is ‘necessary’ for life economic decision making was only valid in the
has long been debated and differences between one context of Western market economy, and that a real
society and another have environmental, historical, definition of the economy should be meaningful in any
and cultural reasons; but some wants must be inescap- society whatever its process of allocation. The first
ably satisfied, otherwise death ensues. Therefore, there group was eventually defined as ‘formalist’ while the
is a physical limit to relativism regarding material second was called ‘substantivist,’ following Polanyi’s
means of livelihood. On the other hand, nonmaterial distinction. The most useful concept that emerged
goods such as the goodwill of deceased ancestors during the debate, although it was not itself subject to
might be conceived as essential for the reproduction of dispute in regard to ‘primitive’ economies, was that of
a society. Most nonmaterial needs, however, have the ‘embeddedness’ of economic activities in other
some material expression, such as food sacrifices social processes. A second wave of the debate in the
during ancestor worship or wealth exchange during 1970s included anthropologists working with formal
mortuary ceremonies. The domain of economic an- decision-making models and Marxian anthropologists
thropology covers the recurring interaction of indivi- working with the concept of ‘mode of production’ and
duals, within and between social groups and with the with issues of ‘transition’ to capitalist economies and
wider environment, with the object of providing ‘articulation’ of different modes of production
material goods and services necessary for social (Godelier 1977).
reproduction.
Traditionally, economic processes have been div-
ided into production, distribution and circulation, and
2.2 The Question of Value
consumption. These analytical categories respond to
observable social interaction in all societies, although The question of value is a function of exchange, of the
the categories themselves are a product of scholarly need to reach some equivalency through comparison.
Western tradition. People, however, engage in social Some aspects of value have constituted constant
relations that can be described as ‘economic’ and sources of debate within anthropology. First, Marx’s
which can be analyzed as participating simultaneously distinction between use value and exchange value, and
in the production, distribution, and consumption how it could be applied to noncapitalist societies or to
categories. peasant societies where factors of production were not
Economic anthropology originally focused on the fully commodified. Second, the classical labor theory
Economic Life of PrimitiŠe Peoples (Herskovits 1960) of value, and how to use it in societies where the labor
where many of the elements present in the Western market, when it existed, was only marginally active.
economy (such as money, a market system) were Third, the marginal utility theory of value and how to
absent. Direct observation of noncapitalist societies make sense of it when every good could have multiple
through ethnographic fieldwork produced impressive uses and be valued according to different measures.

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Finally, the cultural theory of value where local and hunting, human work uses very simple technology
meaning attached to objects, people and situations to select and get whatever food is available in the
was the measure of value, posed the problem of cross- environment. Human–nature interaction has been
cultural comparability in a connected world. studied from an ecological perspective stressing energy
exchanges between different species, but emphasizing
‘culture’ as a basic factor of human adaptation to
2.3 History and Connectedness environmental constraints. The environment, how-
ever, is not an ahistorical given where human popu-
Another issue that became increasingly central was the lations dwell. Rather, past relations between indivi-
need to think historically about the transformation of duals, groups, communities and larger polities are
social relations and the need to study the intercon- inscribed in the environment. Political ecology tries to
nection between different societies through time. These include this history in its perspective.
problems were especially salient to those anthropo- In most societies, the process of production requires
logists influenced by dependency and world system the use of complex technology and the design of
theories, by European Marxist anthropology, and by cooperative labor processes. Knowledge both of the
what came to be known as the political economy skills necessary to use a particular technology and of
perspective in anthropology (Roseberry 1988). The the coordination of the entire process is a crucial asset
aim was to understand local processes as both being of control that generally is distributed unevenly among
formed by and acting upon the larger processes of those participating in production. The way in which a
historical transformation (Wolf 1982). society organizes access to land, labor, energy, tech-
nology, and information expresses economic and
political social relations. Moreover, in all societies
2.4 The Weight of Culture these relations are embedded in other institutional
Cultural aspects had been taken into account in domains such as kinship, religion, politics, and ‘pure,’
economic anthropology mainly as a context where disembedded, economic relations have seldom been
material activities occurred. More recently, anthropo- observed. Peasant studies show, for example, how
logists have been arguing about the centrality of kinship and marriage, experienced through discourses
meaning for the understanding of economic processes. of respect and love, pattern inheritance systems but
Bourdieu (1980) has developed the concept of also social relations of production within the house-
‘habitus’ where past material social relations are hold farming unit.
transformed into a set of dispositions, a scheme of Cultural meanings attached to concrete tasks and\
perceptions that generate practice. Gudeman’s (1986) or collective or personal identities such as gender, age,
proposition, on the other hand, stems from his caste, or ethnic group also contribute to shape work
preoccupation with the methodological problems that processes. The concept of ‘division of labor’ was
Western models of knowledge pose to the under- designed originally to explain the ‘integration of the
standing of other cultures. He proposes to study how social body’ through the necessary dependence be-
each society culturally models the processes by which tween specialized domains of work (Durkheim 1933).
it secures a livelihood, and shows that some societies An example of this meaning can be found when
have multiple articulated models of economic activity. speaking of the ‘sexual division of labor’ in a society
Finally other anthropologists are using the term where male members are ascribed certain work respon-
‘moral economies’ to refer to individual and collective sibilities while female members are ascribed others. In
moralities and cultural values that pervade economic this sense the concept is broad and general. More
social relations. frequently, ‘division of labor’ is used to address
particular production processes and the assigning of
individuals or groups to positions within the process.
This has given anthropologists the opportunity to
3. Concepts and Theory analyze minute interactions taking place between
The classical categories of production, distribution those participating in a concrete labor process.
and consumption, will be followed in order to present
briefly the main concepts and theoretical develop- 3.2 Distribution and Circulation
ments that have unfolded within economic anthro-
pology. The concept of distribution refers to the allocation of
goods between different individuals or groups, while
the concept of circulation refers to the movement of
goods. These processes mediate between the ‘pro-
3.1 Production
duction’ and ‘consumption’ moments of an economy.
Production generally is understood to be the human They also reproduce differentiated categories of people
transformation of matter, through work, into some in regard to the access of resources in general which
useful, consumable good. Sometimes, as in foraging makes them central aspects of social reproduction.

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Economic anthropology has developed a typology exchange such as in bargaining practices, while in
of forms of distribution that was proposed originally other cases a central authority sets up a fixed rate of
by Polanyi (1957). Distribution was for Polanyi the exchange. Yet in other cases, as the model of the
element that provided continuity and structure to market system pretends, value is reached automati-
economic processes. Through a comparative method, cally through the free circulation of all commodities
he concluded that three main forms of distribution subject to the constraints of supply and demand.
were used to integrate the economy: reciprocity, Classical economists tried to find a universal measure
redistribution, and exchange. This typology expressed of value in work: the energy spent in producing the
institutional arrangements not so much the form of commodities exchanged was seen as their only com-
particular transactions. mon element.
The concept of reciprocity had an early start in Most societies have various spheres of circulation
Mauss’ 1923–4 (1968) essay on the ‘gift.’ The essay was where different measures of value apply. In
based mainly on available ethnographic descriptions Bohannan’s (1959) example of the Tiv’s (Nigeria)
of the Potlatch and in Malinowski’s 1922 (1961) multicentered economy, he describes how different
description of the Kula ceremonial exchange. For goods circulate in distinct spheres, each of which is
Mauss, the ‘gift’ was an entirely different form of marked with different moral values relating to sub-
transaction from market exchange. The sustained sistence, prestige, and alliances, and conversion from
relationship between persons and things was essential one sphere to another, while possible, always is
to the ‘gift’ value. Conversely, market exchange was sanctioned morally. The idea that various measures of
based on the total disjunction between autonomous value might simultaneously be at work in a society has
objects and individual agents. Mauss describes the proved very fruitful. Increasingly, anthropologists are
‘gift’ as a movement related to three obligations of a paying attention to the circulation of goods among
social and moral character: to give, to receive, and to different individuals, social groups, or polities along
return. Further developed by Sahlins (1965) who chains of transactions. This perspective integrates the
related reciprocal transactions to the social distance variation of meaning attached to goods or processes
between the persons involved, reciprocity has become together with its material causes and consequences
a useful concept in economic anthropology. Weiner (Appadurai 1986).
(1992) has described how, by entering or remaining
out of circulation, objects could create and regenerate
social relations. Her work opens the concept beyond
3.3 Consumption
the give-return movement originally associated with
reciprocity. Consumption can be defined simply as the use of a
The concept of redistribution as an institutionalized good or service. Use sometimes implies the destruction
process refers to centralized polities that concentrate of the good and precludes further use; otherwise, a
goods through tribute or taxation systems and reassign good can be used in multiple ways, successively or
them later between groups, individuals, and specific simultaneously by different persons. The allocation of
domains. Ethnographic examples range from ‘Big- food to different ends among household members
man’ systems to strongly centralized state polities. traditionally has been the focus of attention. Gender
In Polanyi’s typology, exchange, as an institu- and age biases that seriously affect the intake of
tionalized process, relates to societies that integrate nutrients of certain members of a society have been
the economy through the market system. However, studied. Issues of power, of cultural and long-term
multiple forms of transaction can be called ‘exchange,’ institutional constraints have come to the forefront as
be it the routes of trade partners crossing Australia, ethnographic research has explored the actual pro-
African market places, or the elaborate systems of cesses of consumption (Mintz 1986).
ceremonial exchange in Melanesia. Exchange raises Economic anthropology focuses on the social rela-
two fundamental problems of transactions: first, com- tions that emerge through consumption processes in
parison between the items exchanged and, second, the intimate space of the household or in other, more
nonsimultaneity of the agents’ needs. Comparison is open, public spaces. Some anthropologists underline
the central question of value. Things exchanged always the meaningful aspect of consumption acts conceived
are valued, but how this valuation proceeds is very as signs in an information system expressing social
different from one society to the next. Generally, for a relations (Douglas and Isherwood 1980). Others em-
transaction to take place there must be some measure phasize the role of consumption in the present-day,
of value that enables the agents to reach an equivalence globalized world where goods, people, and infor-
acceptable to all. When some sort of standard item is mation circulate widely across boundaries, and where
used as a measure of value we may speak of money, cultural identity seems to be increasingly the center of
although some other functions that generally are personal meaningfulness, collective solidarity and
associated with money, such as serving as a medium of empowerment (Miller 1995).
exchange, may be lacking. Often, the process of Bourdieu (1979) has shown how relations of differ-
reaching equivalences of value takes place during entiation and domination are constructed through

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complex processes of consumption where the provi- main. While it remains useful to retain the material
sioning and access to material goods is entangled with emphasis of economic processes, in practice, material
the production and reproduction of personal and relations should be studied together with their cultural
collective identities. His emphasis is on the reproduc- expressions. On the other hand, ideas of worldwide
tion of an entire social system. Another perspective connectedness—in systems of provisioning, relations
stresses the systems of provision and underlines the of production, cultures of consumption, labor mi-
connectedness between production, distribution, and gration, etc.—need to be taken into account. The
consumption. From the point of production to final practice of economic anthropology seems bound
consumption, specific social relations contribute both toward the study of social reproduction as a whole
to the material constitution and availability of par- (Narotzky 1997).
ticular goods (e.g., regarding quality or distribution
networks) and to the social construction of particular See also: Boserup, Ester (1910–99); Consumption,
meanings attached to those goods (Fine and Leopold Sociology of; Development, Economics of; Develop-
1993). ment: Social-anthropological Aspects; Development:
Most societies have different possible modes of Socioeconomic Aspects; East Asian Studies: Gender;
provisioning equivalent goods and each mode conveys Economic Development and Women; Economic
a particular field of meanings, power relations, and Geography; Economic Sociology; Exchange in An-
material well-being. Frequent modes of provision are thropology; Family and Consumer Sciences: United
those making goods available through the market
States; Family and Kinship, History of; Family as
(commodities), through the State (social welfare),
through the household (self-provisioning), or through Institution; Family Planning Programs: Development
the community (solidary networks). People may and Outcomes; Family Planning Programs: Feminist
change their modes of provision following economic, Perspectives; Family Theory: Feminist–Economist
political, or other social pressures, but goods also, Critique; Feminist Economics; Fertility: Institutional
during circulation, may participate in different modes and Political Approaches; Fertility Transition: China;
of provision. Here, as with multiple spheres of cir- Fertility Transition: East Asia; Fertility Transition:
culation, transfers between modes of provision have Economic Explanations; Fertility Transition: Latin
both material consequences and meaning. America and the Caribbean; Fertility Transition:
The focus on consumption in anthropology has Southeast Asia; Gender and Technology; Gender,
renewed the interest in objects (material culture) and Economics of; Gender History; Household Produc-
on how they incorporate, circulate, create, and trans- tion; Informal Sector; Labor Movements and
form social relations. Gender; Latin American Studies: Gender; Markets:
Anthropological Aspects; Mode of Production;
Money: Anthropological Aspects; Moral Economy
and Economy of Affection; Near Middle East\North
4. New Trends African Studies: Gender; Political Economy in An-
thropology; Southeast Asian Studies: Gender
Suggestive contributions have been made by anthro-
pologists studying nature. They point to the methodo-
logical need to go beyond the duality nature\society in
the study of human\environment interaction. Eth- Bibliography
nographic research also underscores the blurring of
the natural\artificial boundaries, as biotechnologies Appadurai A (ed.) 1986 The Social Life of Things. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, UK
become capable of producing life while com- Bohannan P 1959 The impact of money on an African
moditization reaches nature in unprecedented ways subsistence economy. Journal of Economic History 19: 491–
(marketing organs, cells, genetic material). Ground- 503
breaking concepts are bound to emerge from these Bourdieu P 1979 La Distinction. Editions de Minuit, Paris
new realities. Bourdieu P 1980 Le sens pratique. Editions de Minuit, Paris
Focus on the informal sector of the economy has Douglas M, Isherwood B 1980 The World of Goods. Penguin,
also contributed a major breakthrough by expanding London
the concept of ‘work.’ Research on informal relations Durkheim E 1933 On the DiŠision of Labor in Society.
(economic or otherwise) is bound to prove fruitful as MacMillan, New York
the realities of flexible production, the weakening of Fine B, Leopold E 1993 The World of Consumption. Routledge,
London
the nation-state model, the informational revolution, Firth R (ed.) 1970 Themes in Economic Anthropology. Tavistock
and massive population movements point to the Publications, London
increasing value of personal networks in the struc- Godelier M 1977 Horizon, trajets marxistes en anthropologie.
turing of contemporary societies. F. Maspero, Paris
Presently, economic anthropology is moving be- Gudeman S 1986 Economics as Culture. Routledge and Kegan
yond the boundaries of a conceptual economic do- Paul, London

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 Economic DeŠelopment and Women

Herskovits M 1960 Economic Anthropology. Knopf, New York cance of organizing women at the village or com-
Malinowski B 1961 [1922] Argonauts of the Western Pacific. munity levels. Significant debates about the goals and
Dutton & Co, New York process of such programs are summarized. The final
Mauss M 1968 [1923–24] Essai sur le don. Forme et raison de
section shows how topical conferences organized by
l’e! change dans les socie! te! s archaı$ ques. In: Mauss M (ed.)
Sociologie et anthropologie. Presses Universitaires de France, the UN provided a venue for inserting critical women’s
Paris issues into official UN documents concerning human
Miller D 1995 Consumption as the vanguard of history. A rights, population, and habitat.
polemic by way of an introduction. In: Miller D (ed.)
Acknowledging Consumption. Routledge, London
Mintz S W 1986 Sweetness and Power. Penguin, New York
Narotzky S 1997 New Directions in Economic Anthropology. 1. Affecting International DeŠelopment Policy
Pluto Press, London The UN was established in 1945 with its 50 members
Polanyi K 1957 The economy as instituted process. In: Polanyi
drawn largely from industrialized countries. By the
K, Arensberg C M, Pearson H W (eds.) Trade and Market in
the Early Empires. Free Press, Glencoe, IL mid-1960s, a majority of the UN members represented
Roseberry W 1988 Political economy. Annual ReŠiew of Anthro- developing countries of Asia and Africa. Their concern
pology 17: 161–85 with economic development propelled this new di-
Sahlins M 1965 On the sociology of primitive exchange. In: mension into global politics. The first UN Devel-
Banton M (ed.) The ReleŠance of Models for Social Anth- opment Decade 1960–70 emphasized infrastructure
ropology, ASA Monographs 1. Tavistock Publications, and industrial projects and was modeled on the
London successes of the Marshall Plan for redevelopment of a
Weiner A B 1992 Inalienable Possessions. University of devastated Europe. Former colonial countries, which
California Press, Berkeley, CA
had often resisted granting independence, sought to
Wolf E R 1982 Europe and the People without History. University
of California Press, Berkeley, CA maintain their trading advantage with former colonies
by supplying funds and personnel to assist in modern-
S. Narotzky ization of these countries. Other industrialized coun-
tries as well as the former USSR and the Eastern Bloc
offered bilateral assistance to selected countries. Re-
spective UN agencies established programs in health,
agriculture, employment, and education; the World
Bank provided loans at low interest rates. Since some
Economic Development and Women were much better positioned than others to benefit
from these programs, the immediate result of these
The consequences of economic development on vast infusions of funds was increased inequality of
women during the last half of the twentieth century income within the countries.
have been tumultuous as traditional cultural pro- Concerned with this trend, the Economic and Social
tections and limitations prescribed for women are Council (ECOSOC) reacted to the UN Report on the
constantly being challenged and reconfigured. Around World Situation by passing a resolution in 1963 tying
the world women have organized to influence de- social and economic issues together. Social issues
velopment policies and to moderate the adverse clearly applied to women, since women delegates at
impacts of rapid socio-economic change, an activity the UN were often leaders of women’s organizations
collectively referred to as women in international in their own newly independent countries that were
development (WID). This combination of activists, demanding a voice in planning at home, they
practitioners, and scholars has lobbied international supported a 1963 UN General Assembly resolution
agencies, national governments, and nongovern- calling for women to be appointed to those bodies
mental organizations so successfully that the con- preparing national development plans (Jayawardene
sideration of women has become an integral part of 1986, Snyder and Tadesse 1995) (see Colonization and
development planning. The cumulative result of this Colonialism, History of; National Liberation MoŠe-
political activity, given focus and visibility through the ments).
United Nations (UN) World Conferences for Women, The debates about development priorities were
has been the creation of a global women’s movement, reflected in the Second Development Decade 1970–80,
perhaps the most significant social movement of our with its emphasis on basic human needs. The refocus of
times. development programming from macrodevelopment
The first section documents the incorporation of toward outreach to people was critical as it allowed
women’s issues into international development policy advocates for women in development to document the
at the UN and at the national levels as a result of distinct ways that economic development affected
pressure by women’s organizations, and reviews the women as opposed to men. Poor women everywhere
four world conferences for women. The second section perform economic activities, from farming to micro-
follows the evolution of programming for poor women enterprise to household production; because income
in developing countries and underscores the signifi- data excluded subsistence and exchange activities,

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Copyright # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences ISBN: 0-08-043076-7