Dual or dueling economies? An analysis of the intersection of the cash and subsistence economies from the social sustainablity perspective

Graduation Date

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Program

Other

Program

Thesis (M.S.)--Humboldt State University, Social Science, Environment and Community Program, 2007

Committee Chair Name

Selma Sonntag

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Subsistence economy, Development, Kiribati, Gender, Community capital, Sustainability, Livelihood construction, Monetary economy, Humboldt State University -- Theses -- Environment and Community

Abstract

The following is a comparative study of two villages at different points along a continuum of reliance on the subsistence and cash economies. Of specific interest are the cultural implications and distributional effects associated with this profound distinction. Are cash and subsistence economies compatible or mutually exclusive? Principles identified in social sustainability literature provide a foundation from which to examine this question. Primary data collected via a Household Income Expenditure Survey (HIES) provide insight regarding distributive properties associated with relative dependence on and access to the cash and subsistence sectors of the economy using simple statistical analysis and content analysis methods. Changing gender ideologies are analyzed using attitudes related to post-marital education (PME) as a proxy. The study found that communities with a greater reliance on the cash economy exhibit a higher degree of economic stratification than communities where the subsistence economy is the predominant method of securing livelihoods. In contrast, the degree of political power among genders in the monetary economy appears to be equalized. In addition, gender ideologies that inform the division of labor appear to be more malleable in communities with a higher reliance on the cash economy.

https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/v405sc665

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