Subjective Lives and Economic Transformations in Mongolia

Life in the Gap

Rebecca M. Empson

ISBN: 9781787351462

Publication: June 01, 2020

Series: Economic Exposures in Asia

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What is this?

Almost 10 years ago the mineral-rich country of Mongolia experienced very rapid economic growth, fuelled by China’s need for coal and copper. New subjects, buildings, and businesses flourished, and future dreams were imagined and hoped for. This period of growth is, however, now over. Mongolia is instead facing high levels of public and private debt, conflicts over land and sovereignty, and a changed political climate that threatens its fragile democratic institutions.

Subjective Lives and Economic Transformations in Mongolia details this complex story through the intimate lives of five women. Building on long-term friendships, which span over 20 years, Rebecca documents their personal journeys in an ever-shifting landscape. She reveals how these women use experiences of living a ‘life in the gap’ to survive the hard reality between desired outcomes and their actual daily lives. In doing so, she offers a completely different picture from that presented by economists and statisticians of what it is like to live in this fluctuating extractive economy.

Praise for Subjective Lives and Economic Transformations in Mongolia
'a comprehensive and dispassionate account following the lives of five women'
Inner Asia

Rebecca M. Empson is Professor of Anthropology at UCL. Alongside teaching in the Department of Anthropology, her research has focused on personhood, ownership, memory and material culture (Harnessing Fortune, 2011), and forms of temporary possession in the global economy (Cultural Anthropology, 2019).

Introduction
1. When the party was cancelled
Interlude I
2. Democracy and its discontent
Interlude II
3. Loans for care
Interlude III

4. Freedom and movement

Interlude IV

5. Networks of exchange
Interlude V
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

'a comprehensive and dispassionate account following the lives of five women'
Inner Asia

Format: Open Access PDF

178 Pages

5 colour illustrations

ISBN: 9781787351462

Publication: June 01, 2020

Series: Economic Exposures in Asia