Moral Economies of Distribution and Redistribution in Africa

This book examines how distribution and redistribution intertwine in everyday African economic life, challenging conventional understandings of capitalism on the continent. It reveals how perceptions of economic fairness connect macro-political economies with micro-level social norms and expectations. This book examines how moralities of distribution and redistribution operate and intertwine in everyday African economic life, enhancing current understandings of capitalism on the continent. Through rich ethnographic studies spanning eight countries—Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Zimbabwe—the volume reveals how these moral perspectives of right and wrong connect macro political economies with micro-level social norms and expectations. As debates about economic inequality intensify globally, this timely work illuminates how African actors navigate complex (re)distributional dynamics, duties, and pressures in contemporary capitalist contexts. The contributors provide nuanced analyses of socioeconomic inequalities that often remain obscured in scholarly and public discourse, making a significant contribution to the growing field of moral economy research in Africa and beyond. This book is essential reading for scholars of African studies, economic anthropology, political economy, development studies and anyone interested in understanding how moral frameworks shape economic relations, practices and outcomes across diverse African settings. The chapters in this book were originally published in Journal of Contemporary African Studies.