LIVELIHOOD DIVERSIFICATION
Economy (Wenzel) the orderly and regular movement of goods and services from producers and
consumers need dependability/regularity of an economy
Economic Institutions (Wenzel) humanly constructed and organized constraints that structure
human interaction (formal, informal, sanctions). Enforce correct behavior
Economic Systems (Wenzel) The entire set of institutions that facilitate economic activities such
as the distribution of G&S and that define other aspects of economy such as property relations
Money (Wenzel) A standardized object serving as the medium of exchange (currency) for
commercial purposes or as payment for non-commercial actions (all purpose - capitalism - or
special purpose
FUNCTIONS: medium of exchange, unit of account/standard value, store of value
Why discuss economics in this course?
How people earn and enjoy a living,
How people organize their production and consumption activities.
Use of scarce resources to produce goods and to distribute them to others for their
consumption.
determining wealth, activities ($ or no $) involving transactions
Property (Wenzel) Something owned or possessed by an individual (private) or economic
organization (corporate) for that person or group's use or which may be used by others with
permission
Common Property Resource/Regime-Access to property through social production
Mode of Production (Wenzel)-Economic activities made up of forces of production and
relations of production
Forces of Production-e.g. technologies, resources, environmental factors, natural and human
capital
Relations of Production-institutional and social arrangements that facilitate economic activity
and correspond to an economic system
Subsistence/Social Economy (Wenzel) A highly specialized mode of production and
distribution of not only G&S but also of social forms. The object is neither total self-sufficiency
not capital accumulation but rather an endless flow of goods, services, and other products. The
codes that govern these are reproduced. Traditional definition: the minimum to support life
,Political Economy. The study of the complex relations between nature and society through
analysis of the forms of access and control over resources and their implications for
environmental health and sustainable livelihoods. Political ecology is political economy from a
community perspective. Dynamic between society and resources, and within classes and groups
within a society. (Wenzel)
The relationship between the production, sale, and consumption of goods AND customs, law,
and politics -> all of the features which influence the conduct of business (Coomes)
Shadow Pricing-Imputing value to non-commercial resources. Live weight (LW/kg) -> Edible
weight (EW/kg) -> Average Price ($) of Imported MEat (kg) -> Shadow Price (Imputed $) = kg
Edible Weight x $/kg Imported Meat
Importance of Peasantry
Numbers
Contributions
Revolutions (land ownership)
Poverty (reduction)
Global environmental change
Definition of a Peasant (Economist Perspective)
1. Derive their livelihoods mainly from agriculture
2. Utilize mainly family labor in farm production
3. Characterized by partial engagement in input and output markets which are often imperfect or
incomplete (Ellis)
4. Collective production and consumption decisions in a household
Definition of a Peasant (Non-economists)
1. Rural/poor (assets, income, consumption)
2. Family farm, mostly agriculture but plural activity
3. Use family (household) labor
4. Reciprocal arrangements (food, labor, materials)
5. Subsistence but also involved in market/larger society
6. Strong family and kin ties in small communities; fictive kin ties
7. Importance of village
8. Patron-client (landlord-tenant) relations very important
9. Lack credit/limited access to capital
, Family Farm (Canada)
1. Produce more crop than they consume (typically specialty crop) and buy their food
2. Own land (freehold); can buy or sell it as needs change
3. Hire people readily to work for wages
4. Purchase seed, fertilizer, and pesticides in quantities, desired from multiple sources
5. Credit available from banks, credit unions, co-ops, etc.
6. Savings instruments available
7. Crop insurance available
8. Good price information available
9. Labor-saving, capital-intensive technology available
10. Knowledge of latest technological/agricultural extension available
11. Goal: profit -> conserve their capital as a business
Peasant Farm (Chile)
1. Produce what they need to live on with some surplus or specialty for sale. Pluriactivity
2. Sometimes own land but often borrow (usufruct) or rent or sharecrop
3. Family or household labor
4. Supply and quality of seed, fertilizer, and other inputs unreliable or non-existent
5. Credit -> rely on money lenders, family
6. Few savings instruments; often use livestock
7. No insurance -> can't self-insure
8. Market information limited
9. Limited equipment for farming
10. Limited knowledge of new technologies (lots of traditional knowledge)
11. Goal: survival of the family -> peasant runs a household not a business concern
Logic of peasant economic life
1. Importance of subsistence security
2. Importance of labor in place of capital
Marxian Political Economy- Economic relations are fundamentally social in nature; social
tensions and how these tensions/contradictions of capitalism gave rise to both creative and
destructive activities. How structures influence the opportunities for people
Means of Production (Marx) Land, labor capital. Not just raw resources but a means to an end.
Certain classes will have control over certain means
Social Relations of Production (Marx) Control over the means of production profoundly
influences the output, who gets what, and therefore the benefits
Mode of Production (Marx) The way that a society is organized (includes means and social
relations)
Economy (Wenzel) the orderly and regular movement of goods and services from producers and
consumers need dependability/regularity of an economy
Economic Institutions (Wenzel) humanly constructed and organized constraints that structure
human interaction (formal, informal, sanctions). Enforce correct behavior
Economic Systems (Wenzel) The entire set of institutions that facilitate economic activities such
as the distribution of G&S and that define other aspects of economy such as property relations
Money (Wenzel) A standardized object serving as the medium of exchange (currency) for
commercial purposes or as payment for non-commercial actions (all purpose - capitalism - or
special purpose
FUNCTIONS: medium of exchange, unit of account/standard value, store of value
Why discuss economics in this course?
How people earn and enjoy a living,
How people organize their production and consumption activities.
Use of scarce resources to produce goods and to distribute them to others for their
consumption.
determining wealth, activities ($ or no $) involving transactions
Property (Wenzel) Something owned or possessed by an individual (private) or economic
organization (corporate) for that person or group's use or which may be used by others with
permission
Common Property Resource/Regime-Access to property through social production
Mode of Production (Wenzel)-Economic activities made up of forces of production and
relations of production
Forces of Production-e.g. technologies, resources, environmental factors, natural and human
capital
Relations of Production-institutional and social arrangements that facilitate economic activity
and correspond to an economic system
Subsistence/Social Economy (Wenzel) A highly specialized mode of production and
distribution of not only G&S but also of social forms. The object is neither total self-sufficiency
not capital accumulation but rather an endless flow of goods, services, and other products. The
codes that govern these are reproduced. Traditional definition: the minimum to support life
,Political Economy. The study of the complex relations between nature and society through
analysis of the forms of access and control over resources and their implications for
environmental health and sustainable livelihoods. Political ecology is political economy from a
community perspective. Dynamic between society and resources, and within classes and groups
within a society. (Wenzel)
The relationship between the production, sale, and consumption of goods AND customs, law,
and politics -> all of the features which influence the conduct of business (Coomes)
Shadow Pricing-Imputing value to non-commercial resources. Live weight (LW/kg) -> Edible
weight (EW/kg) -> Average Price ($) of Imported MEat (kg) -> Shadow Price (Imputed $) = kg
Edible Weight x $/kg Imported Meat
Importance of Peasantry
Numbers
Contributions
Revolutions (land ownership)
Poverty (reduction)
Global environmental change
Definition of a Peasant (Economist Perspective)
1. Derive their livelihoods mainly from agriculture
2. Utilize mainly family labor in farm production
3. Characterized by partial engagement in input and output markets which are often imperfect or
incomplete (Ellis)
4. Collective production and consumption decisions in a household
Definition of a Peasant (Non-economists)
1. Rural/poor (assets, income, consumption)
2. Family farm, mostly agriculture but plural activity
3. Use family (household) labor
4. Reciprocal arrangements (food, labor, materials)
5. Subsistence but also involved in market/larger society
6. Strong family and kin ties in small communities; fictive kin ties
7. Importance of village
8. Patron-client (landlord-tenant) relations very important
9. Lack credit/limited access to capital
, Family Farm (Canada)
1. Produce more crop than they consume (typically specialty crop) and buy their food
2. Own land (freehold); can buy or sell it as needs change
3. Hire people readily to work for wages
4. Purchase seed, fertilizer, and pesticides in quantities, desired from multiple sources
5. Credit available from banks, credit unions, co-ops, etc.
6. Savings instruments available
7. Crop insurance available
8. Good price information available
9. Labor-saving, capital-intensive technology available
10. Knowledge of latest technological/agricultural extension available
11. Goal: profit -> conserve their capital as a business
Peasant Farm (Chile)
1. Produce what they need to live on with some surplus or specialty for sale. Pluriactivity
2. Sometimes own land but often borrow (usufruct) or rent or sharecrop
3. Family or household labor
4. Supply and quality of seed, fertilizer, and other inputs unreliable or non-existent
5. Credit -> rely on money lenders, family
6. Few savings instruments; often use livestock
7. No insurance -> can't self-insure
8. Market information limited
9. Limited equipment for farming
10. Limited knowledge of new technologies (lots of traditional knowledge)
11. Goal: survival of the family -> peasant runs a household not a business concern
Logic of peasant economic life
1. Importance of subsistence security
2. Importance of labor in place of capital
Marxian Political Economy- Economic relations are fundamentally social in nature; social
tensions and how these tensions/contradictions of capitalism gave rise to both creative and
destructive activities. How structures influence the opportunities for people
Means of Production (Marx) Land, labor capital. Not just raw resources but a means to an end.
Certain classes will have control over certain means
Social Relations of Production (Marx) Control over the means of production profoundly
influences the output, who gets what, and therefore the benefits
Mode of Production (Marx) The way that a society is organized (includes means and social
relations)
