In the classical economists' surplus approach retrieved by Sraffa (1951; 1960) and Garegnani ([1960] 2024), institutions regulate the material basis of society and, in particular, the extraction and distribution of the social surplus. In this regard, classical theory provides a material anchor,...

This paper examines the evolution of the biological standard of living using anthropometric data from approximately 22,000 Swiss mercenaries born between c. 1725 and c. 1865. Analyzing mercenary data presents two key challenges: left-truncation due to height requirements and potential selection...

Purpose - The primary objective of this research is to chronicle how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other United States Federal Government Agencies (USFGA) agencies have played a role in shaping the trajectory of financial reporting for sustainability, with a particular emphasis...

Consumer ethnocentrism plays a key role in the markets of developed countries when governments take protectionist measures due to economic crises and downturns. Consumer ethnocentrism appears to be stronger in relation to the choice and purchase of food and beverages. The purpose of the current...

Family language policy research has been focused on migrants from the Global South, their linguistic resources and challenges in the Global North target countries. There has been less research on the countries of origin and of those staying behind. To fill this gap, we investigate a minority...

On this subject, I only knew the excellent little book by the late Schurtz"— Marcel Mauss, 1914, "Les origines de la notion de monnaie".Heinrich Schurtz's 1898 book has been a touchstone for economic historians, anthropologists, and philosophers interested in the nature and origins of money in...

Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, this book discusses the potential of social innovation in the pursuit of social justice in Africa. In the twenty-first century, social innovation and entrepreneurship have attracted renewed attention as a way of promoting social justice and addressing...

Examining modern economic anthropology explores how economic activities are influenced by cultural values, social relationships, and historical contexts across different societies. It examines both traditional and modern systems of exchange, production, and consumption to understand the...

Almost 10 years ago the mineral-rich country of Mongolia experienced very rapid economic growth, fuelled by China’s need for coal and copper. New subjects, buildings, and businesses flourished, and future dreams were imagined and hoped for. This period of growth is, however, now over. Mongolia...

We study differences in economic outcomes by perceived skin tone among African Americans using full-count U.S. decennial census data from the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Comparing children coded as "Black" or "Mulatto" by census enumerators and linking these children across population...

"Tax and taxation are conventionally understood as the embodiment of social contract. This ground-breaking collection of essays challenges this truism, examining what tax might tell us about the limits of social-contract thinking. The contributors shed light on contemporary fiscal structures and...

Cultural anthropology shows a significant interest in the study of morality and ethics with its aim to understand the local contexts and human narratives. Actions and practices pertaining to the domain of morality create not only questions for cultural anthropologists to consider but also...

Using an anthropological interpretation, this essay presents the Business Model as a myth that has been institutionalized by a collective group of stakeholders. The myth allows them to become coordinated, especially when their number increases. What brings them all together is shared values...

In this chapter we survey recent advances in modeling cultural transmission in the economics literature. We first present the basic canonical model of the evolution of cultural traits in the social sciences. Both Economics and Evolutionary anthropology build on this canonical model but their...

An informal economy consists of economic activities not regulated by the state. Informal economies thrive in developing countries with weak formal institutions. They can, however, also be found in OECD countries, but here they are somewhat understudied. From a social capital perspective, it...

"This Encyclopedia presents insights into societal change through the lens of economic anthropology. Interdisciplinary in scope, it outlines emerging themes in the field and explicitly connects theoretical debates to in-depth empirical evidence. Experts in the field provide ethnographic examples...

"Innovation is a constant in human life and organization, arising from within a context-based culture of social structures and beliefs. This book re-examines the processes, practices, and mechanisms of innovation from an anthropological perspective, offering a theory of innovation as a dynamic...

Who are the rural people of Africa? What does it mean to be part of a 'rural' community in contemporary Tanzania? And why is it important to debate questions of African rurality beyond the mere GDP contribution of rural land-based production? This book seeks to address questions like these....

Providing a holistic understanding of extensive oil extraction in rural Mexico, this book focuses on a campesino community, where oil extraction is deeply inscribed into the daily lives of the community members. The book shows how oil shapes the space where it is extracted in every aspect and...

This paper reflects on the relationship between economic (quantitative) and anthropological (qualitative) approaches to the analysis of poverty in developing countries. Drawing on detailed evidence from Mozambique, we argue that different research approaches do not merely see the same poverty...

The Element provides a broad overview of the Polish furniture industry. It tells the story of a sector that grew from a bundle of craftsmen into Europe's largest and the world's second-largest furniture exporter within three decades. This is also the story of a sector marked by a subordinate...

"Resource extraction exists in diverse settings across the world and is carried out through different practices. The Global Life of Mines provides a comprehensive framework examining the spatial and temporal relationships between mining and postmining as interrelated and coexisting features...