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Anth 416
Economic Anthropology

A.G. Dewey
Spring 1985

Mid-term Take Home Exam

1. Define in a few words the following concepts taken from Formalist Economic theory.
a. Land
b. Labor
c. Capital
d. Maximization
e. Choice
f. Scarcity
g. Utility

2. Define in a few words the following concepts as they are used by Substantivist Economic Theory.
a. Reciprocity
b. Redistribution
c. Market Exchange
d. Scarcity
e. Socially Embedded Roles

Answer two of the following with a short essay.
1. What is the Formalist definition of the field of economics and how does it compare to the Substantivist definition? What sorts of things are analyzed by each approach and what does each approach tell us about how and why people act as they do?

2. In Formalist economic theory the concept of "marginal productivity" has been a fairly straightforward and useful concept. "Marginal utility", on the other hand, is neither as simple nor as easily used. Give the definition of these concepts, showing how they differ and discuss why the difference in their usage occurs.

3. In lecture I have argued that any society has, within its socio-economic system, levels at which actions and transactions are seen to be taking place within a framework than can be defined in terms of Zero-Sum Games Theory, and levels that can be defined in terms of Non-Zero-Sum Games Theory. Using concrete examples from one of more societies discuss this proposition.

4. All societies have concepts of Savings, Debt, Credit, and many have a concept of Money. All of these are ways of manipulating and preserving 1) things that one has, 2) things (or services) that are owed to us, 3) things (or services) that one owes to others. Each of these practices has its own advantages and disadvantages, degrees and kinds of risk, and differing flexibility and liquidity should one wish to turn the thing or service into capital. Using concrete examples from one or more societies discuss these concepts and their usages. Do not forget to mention the degree to which the societies used in your examples are closed economic system.