This introductory text is the first of its kind to provide a solid background to the main themes in economic anthropology: production, distribution, consumption and social reproduction. It also offers a critical approach to the central concepts and theoretical assumptions in economic anthropology plus new perspectives on issues which are currently transforming the field. The integration of these three objectives is accomplished by employing a historical approach to economic problems, highlighting the interdependent nature of the contemporary world economy and examining Western societies in case studies. Special emphasis is given to current issues such as the anthropology of work, the informal economy and the cultures of industrialisation and work. Professor Narotzky specifies that human material relations cannot be theoretically separated from their cultural expressions which, in turn, are materially produced and embodied: economic relations of production need to be analysed both in their material and cultural aspects within an integrative framework of social reproduction.