money

"We are the ones who marry our husbands."

Paying attention to gender relations in north-eastern Gabon leads to an emphasis on ethnography's propensity to provide access to the ‘minor mode of reality’: what flaws, signs of change or everyday resistance reveal a different perspective on gender relations in the country?

Diversity

‘No Cash, Friend. Digital India.’ 48 Hours in the Indian Cashless Economy

In November last year, without any previous warning, prime minister Modi declared 86% of India’s currency worthless overnight. Is India ready for a cashless economy? I put it to the test and spent two days navigating New Delhi without cash.

Diversity

Towards a heterodox and reflexive economics

After the 2008 financial crisis, the call for a more heterogeneous approach to studying and teaching economics intensified. But how can heterodoxy take up a more prominent place in economic science? A Cultural Anthropologist offers three suggestions.

Diversity

Moralising misfortune: The morality of life insurance

Erik Bähre has received an ERC Consolidator Grant for research on the morality of life insurance. What issues are raised when insurance companies define responsibility and solidarity? Has insurance changed since the crisis of 2007?

Diversity

My Airbnb home is my market

Is Airbnb a wonderful economic alternative based on sharing and morality? Or is it simply an illustration of our labour market being so problematic that people get more creative to make ends meet? A former Airbnb member tells her side of the story.

Diversity

My home is my (Airbnb) castle?

In Amsterdam there are over 10,500 Airbnb addresses. ‘The easiest way for people to monetise their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions.’ Why does this ‘monetise your extra space’ resonate so well? And what about the neighbours?

Diversity · Digitalisation

A fictive birthday with real debts

In Cape Town, the members of Zolani Club get together to celebrate the birthday of one of their members. The birthday is not real, but the debts are.

Diversity

Youngsters and the new credit counter

In 2011, one in eight youngsters applied for debt counselling (schuldhulpverlening), with their debts running up to €30,000. Why do so many young people have such large consumer debts?

Diversity

Economy as pseudo-nature: what’s the problem?

Economists make a mistake when they make us belief that the economy is a natural force. Economy is not nature. There is no economy outside of human relations, except maybe for monkeys grooming each other. Economy is society and culture.