Economic Development: An Anthropological Approach

by Jeffrey H. Cohen, Norbert Dannhaeuser, Jeffrey Cohen, Nils Gilman, Patricia Lyons Johnson

Overview

Economic development is an important focus of anthropological work in rural and urban communities around the world, and in this volume the contributors offer expert analyses on the theory and practice of development. Chapters cover the key topics of market systems, agricultural knowledge, modernization, population growth, participatory development, conservation strategies, culturally sustainable development, globalization and privatization, tourism, urban development, and financial markets. The cross-cultural focus of the volume provides original data on development processes in many countries, including the Philippines, Bali, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Venezuela, Kazakstan, and the United States. The book will be a welcome source of comparative research for anthropologists, development specialists, agricultural researchers, environmentalists, and geographers.

Published in cooperation with the Society for Economic Anthropology. Visit their web page.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759102125
Publisher:	AltaMira Press
Publication date:	04/16/2002
Series:	Society for Economic Anthropology Monograph Series , #19
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 8.82(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

Jeffrey H. Cohen is Professor of Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University who researches the social impact of transnational migration and remittances investment in rural communities. His most recent publication is Cooperation and Community: Economy and Society in Oaxaca (1999). Norbert Dannhaeuser is Professor of Anthropology at Texas A&M University and specializes in development issues of complex societies. He is the author of Contemporary Trade Strategies in the Philippines: A Study in Marketing Anthropology.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: Development in Practice and Theory, a Positive Role for Anthropology Part 2 Part I: Development and Theory in Anthropology Chapter 3 Chapter 1: Involution and Modernization: The Case of Clifford Geertz Chapter 4 Chapter 2: The Evolution of Market Niches among Oaxacan Wood Carvers Chapter 5 Chapter 3: Tourists as a Common-Pool Resource: A Study of Dive Shops on Utila, Honduras Chapter 6 Chapter 4: The Interstices of Urban Development: An Economic Anthropological Approach to Development in a Midwestern U.S. Community Part 7 Part II: Development in Practice Chapter 8 Chapter 5: Barriers to the Diffusion of Agricultural Knowledge: A Balinese Case Study Chapter 9 Chapter 6: The Common Sense of Development and the Struggle for Participatory Development in Sri Lanka Chapter 10 Chapter 7: Culturally Sustainable Development Chapter 11 Chapter 8: An Analysis of Risk Perceptions: Understanding Beneficiaries' Concerns in Sustainable Development Activities Chapter 12 Chapter 9: The Women Left Behind: Potential Effects of Male Migrants' Return on Women's Fertility and Health in Bangladesh Part 13 Part III: Locating Development and New Avenues for Research Chapter 14 Chapter 10: Gifts, Bribes and Development in Post-Soviet Kazakstan Chapter 15 Chapter 11: Globalization, Privatization, and Public Space in the Provincial Philippines Chapter 16 Chapter 12: Looking into the Future: Anthropology and Financial Markets Chapter 17 Chapter 13: Emerging Markets, Globalization and the Small Investor: The Case of Venezuela

Editorial Reviews

This book is the state of the art in the practice of development anthropology. It demonstrates many important contributions by anthropologists to the development process. Theoretically sophisticated, full of rich case studies, this is an ideal text for a development anthropology course. It includes a remarkable range of critiques and case studies, covering the full terrain of contemporary development anthropology, and is by far the best coverage and quality of any current book on the topic.

Richard Wilk

The local is undervalued in these days of globalization, but not by anthropologists. Cohen and Dannhaeuser bring an empirical, holistic, microlevel perspective to the critical study and practice of development. These case studies give historical and current examples of development practice that show the importance of local input, the necessity of taking local class structure, cultural diversity and values into account. They consider economic development from historical, theoretical and practical perspectives. They call for the reintegration of the practice of development with the growth of formal development theory in anthropology. The book highlights the value of anthropology to theory and practice in development.

Martha Woodson Rees

quite interesting...contains some of the most interesting contributions for thinking about the object(s) and new directions for development anthropology...fascinating contributions.

Anthropos - Peter Schroder