Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the history of economic anthropology and the contributions to that field from the New Institutional Economics. It presents a model for cooperation that explains the internal organization of producer networks. The book provides an overview of networking and the broad range of groups who have taken an interest in promoting the new production strategy. It also presents the results of the credit study and suggests a model for competition. The book examines production networks among household producers in a market economy by providing an assessment of the current and potential role of network forms of organization. Many farmers in Iowa and other Midwestern states are joining swine production networks - cooperative endeavors to jointly produce and market pigs.