Economic Anthropology

Economic anthropologists study processes of production, circulation and consumption of different sorts of objects in social settings. 'Objects' includes material things, as well as what people do for each other (such as provide labour and services) and less visible objects (such as names, ideas and so forth). The settings range from small and intimate social units like households through intermediate ones, like firms, villages or local markets, to very large entities like regional systems of ceremonial exchange or global systems of advertising and consumption.

While the settings and processes that are studied vary tremendously, most economic anthropologists approach them in two main ways. One approach is concerned with social context: what sorts of people make, give, take or consume which sorts of things, and in what sorts of situations do they do so? In a sub-Saharan African village, who is it who tends food crops - men or women, old or young, married or single, and so forth? In England, which sorts of households are likely to have computers, and which household members are likely to use them? Another approach is concerned with cultural context: how do different sorts of people understand their economic activities, the objects involved and the people with whom they carry out those activities? When an artisan sells something to a buyer, how does each party think about their relationship and the objects that they exchange?

Thus, while economic anthropologists study economic processes, their approach is different from that of economists. Economists usually restrict themselves to monetary transactions and try to develop formal, abstract models of economic systems. Economic anthropologists, on the other hand, usually are concerned with all forms of production, circulation and consumption, monetary or not. Further, they are concerned less with developing formal models and more with trying to describe and understand economic actions in their social and cultural context.

Text written by Dr. James G. Carrier (reproduced with author’s permission)

Postgraduate programmes in the UK

* Various universities provide a module or unit on Economic/ Business Anthropology but currently there are no postgraduate degrees in this specialisation in Britain*

Recommended Resources

General

http://www.rethinkingeconomies.org.uk/ - An ESRC funded seminar series on local and international economic developments.

http://www.thememorybank.co.uk/ - Professor Keith Hart’s website provides a lot of information on various aspects of economic anthropology.

http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/dictionary - The New Palgrave online dictionary has a good description of economics.

Professional Organisations, Groups & Associations

Society for Economic Anthropology – a group of 300 anthropologists, economists, geographers and scholars interested in the connections between economics and social life.

Society for the Anthropology of Work- An interest group of the American Anthropological Association.

Books

The Memory Bank: money in an unequal world
Hart, Keith (Profile Books, Lt. 2000)

Economies and Cultures: Foundations of Economic Anthropology 2nd
Ed.
Wilk, R. Richard and Cliggett, C. Lisa (Westview Press, 2007)

Film

The Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) has one of the largest ethnographic film libraries in Europe. Films are available for hire, sale, or loan for educational and academic purposes. Click here for a list of films the RAI distributes on Economic Anthropology.

Disclaimer: The above information is provided for information and guidance only. It should not be interpreted as endorsement or otherwise by the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) for any external institution listed.  Furthermore, the RAI accepts no responsibility for material created by external parties or the content of external websites.