Diverse Economic Practices Research Articles

Beyond household economies: articulations and spaces of economic practice in postsocialism

While there has already been an engaged critique of the `transition to capitalism', less work has explored the limits of the dominant capitalocentric accounts of postsocialism. In this paper, we argue that capitalist development in postsocialist societies should be seen as one part of a diverse economy, constituted by a host of economic practices articulated with one another in dynamic and complex ways and in multiple sites and spaces. To make this argument, we develop three interlinked points. First, we suggest that many of the prevailing conceptualizations of diverse economic practices in postsocialism fail to address adequately the multiple geographies within which such practices are constituted, enabled and constrained. Second, we argue that in much of the literature only limited attention has been paid to the articulation of capitalist and non-capitalist economies and to the mutually constitutive sets of social relations that underpin the diverse economies of postsocialism. Lastly, we focus on the political and moral economy of postsocialism's diverse economies and ask how these practices should be valued. We conclude by arguing that central to any understanding of the diverse economies of postsocialism must be a recognition of the power relations which shape and are shaped by the articulations and geographies of economic practices. This recognition, we argue, enables the possibility of reassessing the place, politics and value of such practices.

Relocating Gender and Rural Economic Strategies

In recent decades, increasing entrepreneurial activities among women have contributed to shifting livelihood strategies at the household, community, and regional scales. In this paper I examine home-based work in an economic network to highlight the intersection of gender and economic practices in rural Appalachia. The research demonstrates that these livelihood strategies both construct and are shaped by dynamic material conditions and social processes in place. Economic restructuring in the central Appalachian region has led to the reworking of economic strategies, despite a continued reliance by households on homework and informal activities. The case study for this project is an economic network comprised of sixty home-based workers who produce knitwear for regional and national markets. In-depth interviews and extensive fieldwork are used to examine the complexity of shifting economic livelihoods in the rural Appalachian context. The analysis focuses on the (re)negotiation of gender identities by home-based workers in the context of economic restructuring. The discussion also shows how participation in these activities contributes to economic and social empowerment. Overall, this study offers a critical approach to the economy, work, and gender in a way that analyzes diverse economic practices and the construction of gender identity in a rural, economically marginalized region.