Economic Systems and Modes of Exchange

Vocabulary flashcards covering anthropological economics, mechanisms of reciprocity, redistribution, and ethnographic examples of exchange.

Economics (anthropological)

The study of how people produce, distribute, and exchange resources, including the cultural rules that shape those activities.

Market economy

An economic system in which goods, services, and labor are exchanged through markets, with prices strongly influenced by supply and demand, and where money functions as a medium of exchange.

Primary reinforcer

Something that directly satisfies a need or desire, such as food or rest.

Secondary reinforcer

Something that gains value because it can be exchanged for primary reinforcers; money is a common example.

Reciprocity

Exchange between people or groups that helps create, maintain, or negotiate social relationships, not always motivated by maximizing financial profit.

Generalized reciprocity

A form of exchange involving giving without calculating exact value or expecting a specific, timely return, such as sharing food among close family members or foraging groups.

Balanced reciprocity

An exchange in which a return of broadly tracked value is expected within a culturally appropriate, socially understood time frame, such as birthday gifts or agreed group exchanges.

Negative reciprocity

An exchange where the goal is to gain more value than one gives, often strategically, such as an exploitative trade; it is more likely in relationships where trust or solidarity is weak.

Redistribution

A system where resources are collected by or flow toward a central person, group, or institution and are subsequently allocated or redistributed to others.

Leveling mechanism

A cultural practice or social rule that limits the accumulation or display of unequal wealth or prestige, such as food-sharing rules and social disapproval of arrogance.

Corporate group

A group whose members share recognized social, economic, political, or property obligations, with membership and rights varying by culture.

Land tenure

The culturally and legally recognized rules about who may use, control, inherit, or transfer land.

Commodity

Something that can be exchanged in a market, the legitimacy of which varies across societies depending on whether resources like land are viewed as collective responsibilities or private property.

Potlatch

A ceremonial feast and gift-giving event among indigenous cultures of the Northwest Coast of North America associated with status, obligations, and intergroup relationships, where hosts demonstrate prestige by giving away substantial wealth.

Moka

A system of ceremonial exchange in Papua New Guinea in which giving large amounts can build prestige and create obligations for later reciprocation.

Kula ring

A ceremonial exchange network in the Trobriand Islands and surrounding islands, described by Bronisław Malinowski, where shell necklaces and armbands circulate in opposite directions and hold value tied to relationships and histories rather than mere material worth.

Market exchange vs. Reciprocity

Market exchange emphasizes prices and supply/demand, whereas reciprocity emphasizes social relationships and culturally defined obligations (real societies often use both).