Flashcards for Economic Systems
Topic 3:  Distribution and Exchange
(15 cards)

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Copyright © 2007 by Dennis O'Neil. All rights reserved.

The two things that may be gained when goods and services are given away, purchased, sold, or traded. (Hint: these are referred to as the “components of the exchange” in the tutorial.)

pure economic gain and social gain

The term for the kind of “economic” relations that are created and maintained by gift exchanges that involve a continuous cycle of giving, receiving, and repaying. (Hint: the term is not “friendship.”)

reciprocity or reciprocal exchange

The effect of reciprocal exchanges on a society’s wealth. (Hint: think in terms of whether the wealth is redistributed in a way different than before or not.)

They usually result in a circulation of goods and services. There is not a net economic loss for individuals because they ultimately receive gifts in return.

The kind of reciprocity, or reciprocal exchange, in which there is an explicit expectation of immediate return. Simple barter or supermarket purchases involve this understanding.

balanced reciprocity

The kind of reciprocity, or reciprocal exchange, in which gifts are given without the expectation of an immediate return. It is understood that at some time in the future there will be an appropriate repayment.

generalized reciprocity

The kind of reciprocity, or reciprocal exchange, in which there is an attempt to get someone to exchange something he or she may not want to give up or to get a more valued thing than you give in return. This may involve trickery, coercion, or hard bargaining.

negative reciprocity

The kind of reciprocity that is usually involved with the exchange of Christmas presents in North America. (Hint: there usually is an expectation of a return gift at the same time that you give one.)

balanced reciprocity

The kind of reciprocity that is usually involved with the giving of birthday presents in North America. (Hint: there usually is an expectation of a return gift later in the year, when the gift giver’s birthday occurs.)

generalized reciprocity

The kind of reciprocity that is involved when someone sells rock concert tickets to desperate people at five times the price it costs him or her to buy them.

negative reciprocity

The term for an economic exchange intended to distribute a society's wealth in a different way than exists at present.

redistribution (or redistributive exchange)

The term for the kind of exchange that results from charity and progressive income tax systems.

redistribution (or redistributive exchange)

The name of the traditional redistributive exchange system of the Kwakiutl people of northern Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Strait in Western Canada. (Hint: during the 19th century and earlier, this exchange system served as a tool for one-upmanship for important Kwakiutl men.)

potlatch

The kinds of things that men in the indigenous societies of New Guinea traditionally gave away in elaborate redistributive exchanges in order to increase their personal status and become a respected "big man."

pigs, cassowaries, and other valuable, exotic items

The name of the extensive network of inter-island trade to the east and northeast of New Guinea. This trade involved the giving away of treasured necklaces and armbands to trading partners in order to reinforce bonds between them.

Kula Ring

A term used in the tutorial for large-scale buying and selling of goods and services within and between societies that usually have market economies.

commerce