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Components of a Moral Economy: Interest, Credit, and Debt in Haiti's Transnational Health Care System
Author(s) -
Minn Pierre
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1111/aman.12500
Subject(s) - moral economy , debt , ethnography , emigration , psychological intervention , sociology , health care , economy , political economy , economics , political science , economic growth , law , finance , psychology , anthropology , psychiatry , politics
The concept of “moral economy” has garnered the attention of anthropologists for its juxtaposition of two central dimensions of human experience that are often treated as distinct realms. However, the concept's analytic potential remains limited, in part because of the challenges in identifying what specifically a moral economy might comprise or entail. I suggest that articulating components of moral economies—in this case interest, credit, and debt—brings into relief some of the more subtle features of social processes that involve diverse resources, transfers, and calculations. Specifically, I use this approach to examine the provision of health services in Haiti by foreign clinicians and the emigration of Haitian health professionals, drawing on ethnographic research conducted in and around the city of Cap‐Haïtien. I illustrate how moral economies exist through actions, experiences, and representations, and I shed light on less conspicuous dimensions of international medical interventions, humanitarianism, and “brain drain.”