For more than a century, anthropologists have studied the economic lives and institutions of people around the world. The results of their research and reflection on economy have generally stayed within the discipline and have not been available in an accessible form to a broader readership. This major reference book is intended to correct this. This unique Handbook contains substantial and invaluable summary discussions of work on economic processes and issues, and on the relationship between economic and non-economic areas of life. Furthermore it describes conceptual orientations that are important among economic anthropologists, and presents summaries of key issues in the anthropological study of economic life in different regions of the world. Its scope and accessibility make it useful both to those who are interested in a particular topic and to those who want to see the breadth and fruitfulness of an anthropological study of economics. Economists from a wide range of fields and perspectives - from heterodox to classical, and from industrial economics to economic psychology and sociology - will find much to engage them within this exciting Handbook, as will anthropologists drawn to the significant statements by senior figures in the field. Those involved in development projects will find this an invaluable reference work with which to gain greater understanding of and insight into the reasons for people’s economic activities and decisions. The concise treatments of topics will provide invaluable teaching aids and reference for further reading by scholars at all levels of study.

一个多世纪以来，人类学家一直在研究世界各地人们的经济生活和制度。他们对经济的研究和思考的结果一般都停留在本学科内，而没有以一种易懂的形式提供给更多的读者。这本重要的参考书就是为了纠正这种情况。这本独特的手册包含了对经济过程和问题以及经济和非经济生活领域之间关系的实质性和宝贵的总结讨论。此外，它还描述了在经济人类学家中很重要的概念取向，并对世界不同地区的经济生活人类学研究中的关键问题进行了总结。它的范围和可及性使其对那些对某一特定主题感兴趣的人和那些希望看到经济人类学研究的广度和成果的人都很有用。来自不同领域和观点的经济学家--从异端到古典，从产业经济学到经济心理学和社会学--都会在这本令人振奋的手册中找到许多吸引他们的东西，人类学家也会被该领域资深人士的重要发言所吸引。那些参与发展项目的人将会发现这是一本非常有价值的参考书，可以更好地理解和洞察人们的经济活动和决定的原因。对主题的简明处理将为各级学者的进一步阅读提供宝贵的教学辅助和参考。