Economic Anthropology Flashcards
What is economic anthropology?
Economic anthropology is the cross-cultural study of the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services
What is production?
- How people organise their work
- Divide labour by age and gender
What is distribution?
-Once produced,goods and services must be distributed
What are the three ways by which goods are distributed?
- Reciprocity
- Redistribution
- Market Exchange
What is reciprocity?
Direct exchange of goods and services
What is redistribution?
Flow of goods and services to central authority, then returned in different form
What is market exchange?
Buying and selling through price mechanism
What is consumption?
Access to goods and services
What is an economic system?
The part of society that deals with production, distribution and consumption of goods and services
Who is Marcel Mauss and why is he a key thinker for economic anthropology?
- He laid the foundation for economic anthropology
- He said gift is never free
What book did Mauss write and when?
- The Gift
- 1925
What 3 things did Mauss say was involved in gift giving?
- To give
- To receive
- To reciprocate
What is commodification?
Anything intended for exchange
