Economics and Anthropology

8/9/2019 Economics and Anthropology

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Economics and Anthropology

Ms. Carin Alejandria

Enderun Colleges, Inc


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Key terms

Allocation of

resources

Balanced reciprocity Barter

Big men

Brideswealth

Division of labor

Economic

anthropology

Economics Generalized

reciprocity

Globalization Kula ring


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Key terms

Labor specialization

Market exchange

Mechanical solidarity Negative reciprocity

Organic solidarity

Particularism

Potlatch

Production

Property rights

Reciprocity Redistribution

Silent trade

Standardized currency

tribute


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Economic anthropology

The study of economic anthropology involves

a theoretical debate between those who

believe the concepts of Western economics

are appropriate for the study of all economic

systems and those who do not.


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Economic anthropology

involves examining how resources are

allocated, converted into usable commodities,

and distributed


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Property rights

Whereas property rights to land are stronglyheld in the U.S., in most food-collectingsocieties land is not owned either individually

or collectively. The extent to which peoplehave free access to land in pastoral societiesdepends on local environments where waterand pasturage are scarce. Land rights are

more rigidly controlled among horticulturalistsand agriculturalists than among foragers andpastoralists.


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Property ownership

People in some parts of the world do not

share most North Americans notion of

property ownership. Instead of owning

something in our sense of the word, people

have limited rights and obligations to a

particular object.

Ex. The Palawan Case


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Gender specialization

Every society, to one degree or another,

allocates tasks according to gender. Because

the same type of activity (such as weaving)

may be associated with the opposite gender in

different cultures, the division of labor by

gender is sometimes seen as arbitrary


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Task specialization

The amount of specialization (division of

labor) varies from society to society. Based on

the extent of division of labor, French

sociologist Durkheim distinguished between

two different types of societies: those based

on mechanical solidarity and those based on

organic solidarity.


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Task specialization

According to Durkheim, societies with a

minimum of labor socialization are held

together by mechanical solidarity, which is

based on a commonality of interests, whereas

highly specialized societies are held together

by organic solidarity, which is based on mutual

interdependence.


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Types of distribution

Goods and services are distributed according

to three different modes: reciprocity,

redistribution, and market exchange.


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Reciprocity is the exchange of goods and

services of roughly equal value between two

trading partners


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Redistribution, found most commonly in

societies with political bureaucracies, is a form

of exchange whereby goods and services are

given to central authority and then reallocated

to the people according to a new pattern


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market exchange systems involve the use of

standardized currencies to buy and sell goods

and services.


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Types of reciprocity

Economic anthropologists generally recognize

three types of reciprocity depending upon the

degree of closeness of the parties:

generalized, balanced, and negative.


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generalized reciprocity involves giving a gift

without any expectation of immediate return


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balanced reciprocity involves he exchange of

goods and services with the expectation that

equivalent value will be returned within a

specific period of time


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and negative reciprocity involves the exchange

of goods and services between equals in

which the parties try to gain an advantage.


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redistribution

Whereas reciprocity is essentially the

exchange of goods and services between two

partners, redistribution involves a social

center from which goods are redistributed.

The institutions of tribute paid through an

African chief, bride wealth, and the potlatch

found among the Native Americans of theNorth West coast are all examples of

redistribution.


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Market exchange

Market exchange, based on standardized

currencies, tends to be less personal than

either reciprocity or redistribution because

people in such an exchange are interested

primarily in maximizing their profits. As a

general rule, the more labor specialization in a

society, the more complex the system ofmarket exchange.


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Government and free market

Societies with self-developed market

economies have to decide to what extent they

would allow free markets or the government

to control the economy.

Documents

Economics and Anthropology