Identity And Development: Tongan Culture, Agriulture, And The Perenniality Of The Gift

Identity and Development presents a remarkable record of Tonga’s increasing participation in the modern global economy, and provides anthropologists, economists, and historians with a detailed case study that bears heavily on major issues of the day, both practically and theoretically. The book focuses on issues of identity, entrepreneurship, and the intricacies of development and addresses the question: ’How (in the current state of the economy) can a Tongan become a successful grower?’ This question is set against the background of a boom in cash cropping, sparked by a burgeoning export trade with Japan.

Paul van der Grijp is a senior lecturer in anthropology at the Université de Provence (Aix-Marseille I) in the south of France, where he teaches history and theories of anthropology, economic and political anthropology, and Oceania studies. He is also a researcher of the Centre de Recherche et de Documentation sur l’’Océanie, Maison Asie Pacifique, in Marseilles.