ABSTRACT
Much recent discussion of household subsistence in the transition economies has been centred on the notion of ‘household survival strategies’ (Voronkov 1995, Johnson et al. 1996, Yaroshenko 1999). The notion of a ‘household survival strategy’ has been used widely in development studies to draw attention to the diversity of sources of household subsistence and in particular to the role of informal and household economic activity, the domain primarily of women, the young and the old. The notion was important in moving away from the narrow perspective of the wage-earning breadwinner supporting a dependent family that is associated with a one-sided view of the young, the old and women as dependants on the wages of men (Pahl 1984, Chant 1991, Nelson and Smith 1998). This approach provided the basis for powerful critiques of development strategies which had single-mindedly pursued the objective of expanding wage-earning or small business opportunities, even if this was at the expense of the contribution of other household members and of other activities to household subsistence. This is particularly important where households are not fully committed to wage-earning in the market economy, so that subsistence production and engagement in the informal economy play a significant role in the reproduction of household members (Tinker 1990). However, I would suggest that the notion is less appropriate to transition economies for three main reasons.
