Economic Anthropology

Economic anthropology studies how human societies organize production, exchange, and consumption, especially in non-market and pre-industrial settings.

Scope

It covers gift exchange and reciprocity, the substantivist-formalist debate, modes of subsistence, and the cultural embedding of economic life.

Core questions

• How is exchange organized in different societies?
• Are economic principles universal or culturally specific?
• What is the role of gifts and reciprocity?
• How do non-market economies work?

Key concepts

• Gift exchange
• Reciprocity
• Kula ring
• Substantivism vs formalism
• Modes of subsistence
• Embeddedness

Key theories

Exchange and the kula

Malinowski's study of Trobriand exchange (the kula ring) revealed non-utilitarian logics of exchange.

The gift

Mauss showed that gift exchange creates and sustains social bonds through obligations to give, receive, and reciprocate.

The original affluent society

Sahlins challenged assumptions about scarcity and rationality in subsistence economies.

History

From Malinowski's and Mauss's foundational studies of exchange, economic anthropology developed the substantivist-formalist debate (Polanyi, Sahlins) and now studies value, money, and capitalism cross-culturally.

Debates

Formalism versus substantivism

Whether formal economic theory applies universally or economies are substantively embedded in their social contexts.

Key figures

• Bronisław Malinowski
• Marcel Mauss
• Marshall Sahlins

Seminal works

• malinowski-1922
• mauss-1925
• sahlins-1972

Frequently asked questions

What is the gift, in Mauss's sense?

An exchange that, though seemingly free, carries obligations to give, receive, and reciprocate, weaving social ties.