Economy

Lecture Objectives

1. Distinguish between the diverse modes of economic organization

2. Distinguish between modes and means of production 3. Differentiate between forms of exchange 4. Describe potlatch and be able to identify how it

functions at both the local and regional levels. 5. Describe the role of the economic anthropologist and

identify potential research topics.

Economy, Economics, & Anthropology

Economy____________________________

EconomicsThe study of such systems

Economic AnthropologyStudies __________________________

Economic Systems: Mode of Production

Based on production, distribution, and consumption

Mode of production:_____________________________________

Economic Systems: Mode of Production

Why would differences in mode of production occur between cultural groups practicing the same subsistence strategy?

________________________________

Exchange

What’s being exchanged?_______________________

Forms of Exchange:Reciprocity RedistributionMarket

Media of Exchange

Transactions of (or for) goods, services, or both

Examples: _______________________________________

Reciprocity

Foraging, horticulture, and pastoralism cultural groups

Everywhere groups exchange resources with other groups – Why?_________________________________

Reciprocity

Form of exchange used to _________________

______________________without the use of a ___________________________

Several different transaction types__________________________________

Reciprocity

Reciprocity Continuum

_____________ ______________________

What do you think the differences are between these 3 forms?

Which forms are based on social ties and trust?

Redistribution

Resources collected from many individuals (or groups)______________________________

____________________later draws from this pool/fund in returning public goods & services________________________________

Malinowski studied Trobrianders 1914-1917

Trobriand Islanders

Trobriand Islanders

Market Exchange

Objects & services are exchanged “on the market”

A __________________ B wantsB _______________________ A _________________ of

money that A and B agree uponA then uses the _____________________ goods

from other people

Economic Concepts

(Law of) Supply and DemandSupply: ____________________________Demand: __________________________

Together these influence _________, and so the ___________, of a good for sale.

Economic Anthropology

Economic Anthropology

Hybrid – allows for investigation of economic behavior as it is lived and practiced

___________________________________

Economic life described as being “based on the broader organization of society” (Herskovitz, 1965, 7)

Economic Anthropology & Migration

Migration viewed as a dynamic process that responds to and is shared by broader economic, cultural, and social factors

Migration: Movement of people through geographical

space (Kearney, 1986)Movement of people into and out of a specified

territory (Payne, 2006)

Economic Anthropology & Migration

Contemporary migrants: predominately workers

Spatial differentials in employment opportunities represent:Lesser and greater levels of

economic development

____________________________________________________________________

Lesotho

Lesotho: Background Information

Reported by Cobbe (2012) and the CIAEstimated population: _________________________

20th and 21st CenturyHalf of adult male population temporary worked in South

AfricaHeavly geared at South African minesHow migration is experienced in Lesotho changed after the

1950s and, especially, after 1994Changes in South African law made it easier become a legal

permanent residentMale and female migrants today