Introduction

This website presents selected drafts and abstracts of chapters, commentary and discussion, web links, and videos of a conference held on June 30, 2002 to accompany the book Culture and Public Action, edited by V. Rao and M. Walton, Stanford University Press, 2004. (South Asia edition published by Permanent Black, 2004).

Contributors (In order of chapters in the book):

Amartya Sen, Arjun Appadurai, Mary Douglas, Marco Verweij, Timur Kuran, Arjo Klamer, Lourdes Arizpe, Sabina Alkire, Anita Abraham, Jean-Philippe Platteau, Monica Das Gupta, Carol Jenkins, Fernando Calderon, Alicia Szmuckler, Simon Harragin, Shelton Davis,Vijayendra Rao, Michael Walton

Reviews of the book.

Interview with co-editor Vijayendra Rao about the book.

Video of a Talk by Arjun Appadurai on the "Capacity to Aspire," followed by a discussion, at the World Bank.

How does culture matter for Development? Do certain societies have cultures which condemn them to poverty? Led by Arjun Appadurai, Mary Douglas, and Amartya Sen, the anthropologists and economists in this volume contend that culture is central to development, and that cultural processes are neither inherently good nor bad and never static. Rather, they are contested and evolving, and can be a source of profound social and economic transformation through their influence on aspirations and collective action; yet they can also be exploitative, exclusionary, and can lead to inequality.

Culture and Public Action includes case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which examine the role of culture in arts and heritage policy, community-based development, ethnic conflict, famine relief, gender discrimination, and HIV-AIDS interventions. The editors conclude by proposing how a “cultural lens” can better inform future research and public policy on development. Accessible, balanced, and engaging, this book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the relationship between culture and economics, and the design and implementation of development policy.

Advance Praise:

The observation that cultural norms affect economic development has been made repeatedly, yet it has been very hard to use it effectively, whether for policy or for prediction. The essays in this volume present authoritatively the present state of knowledge and point out new aspects, which hold out the prospect of greater usefulness.
—Kenneth Arrow, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Stanford University

This impressive collection of essays combines outstanding theoretical essays on the complex interrelation between culture and development with well-researched case studies that ground these observations in the everyday reality of the poor. The book does not seek to resolve all debates on these issues, but rather asks what kinds of agreements are possible that will yield insights to move public action in meaningful ways. It is an invitation to go beyond polemics and to deepen our stakes in the dialogue between anthropology and economics. The introduction and conclusion by the two editors are models of clarity and hospitable thought.
—Veena Das, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University

The editors are to be congratulated on having attracted three heavy hitters to their enterprise—Amartya Sen, Mary Douglas, and Arjun Appadurai. And these luminaries have come up with the goods, writing papers any one of which would attract readers. This book will have a diverse readership and it will deserve to do so.

— Keith Hart, Senior Research Fellow, Arkleton Institute, University Aberdeen

This book provides us with valuable insights into the relationship between culture and development, and with practical advice on the implications of this for development policy. It should be read by all who are interested in reducing poverty and deprivation in our increasingly interconnected world.
—James D. Wolfensohn, President, The World Bank

Cover Photograph (Click here for a full size version): An army of community volunteers sweeps through a neighborhood in Khayelitsha, a vast South African township of nearly two million people behind Cape Town. (c) Gideon Mendel, 2002.