Sociology and Anthropology of Economic Life 2: Strategies, Networks, and Markets

This is the second of two readers on the sociology and anthropology of economic life that together provide an account of major issues in the area of economic anthropology and sociology as they pertain to the study of Indian society and culture. This volume, Sociology and Anthropology of Economic Life 2: Strategies, Networks, Markets, is concerned with the rise of novelty in economic arrangements in Indian society. With the opening of the Indian economy in the 1990s and rapid globalization, a fresh set of conceptual and empirical challenges have arisen. New alignments between law, governance, and markets have meant new possibilities and threats for different sections of the population. The essays in this volume are clustered around three themes. The first is the examination and documentation of transformations in the traditional institutions of kinship and caste. The second theme involves the analysis of networks, ranging from local neighborhood networks to transnational ones that have enabled circulation of information, capital and people. The third theme addresses globalization, defined not only as actual movements of capital, people and goods but also the production of globalized images; conflicts over patents and brand names; and the gap between law and practice in the case of new markets for products such as body parts. This book examines the manner in which opportunities are differentially distributed. The rich and fascinating ethnographies in this volume provide well-documented case studies with which to comprehend theoretical issues. The essays provide a set of critical concepts with which to make an assessment of the changes taking place in the Indian economic scene.