subsistence economy

American  

[suhb-sis-tuhns-i-kahn-uh-mee] / səbˈsɪs təns ɪˌkɑn ə mi /

noun

plural

subsistence economies

1. an economy in which each household produces just enough to meet requirements for their own lives, typically characterized by the most basic technology and an absence of markets and money.

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Example Sentences

"A subsistence economy will lead us nowhere. Currently, we are not in a better position than many other African countries in this regard," he said.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2025

"They flexibly changed their subsistence economy between herding and farming, and some — Hunnic war bands — also changed their social and political organization in favor of raiding and extraction of gold."

From Salon • Dec. 24, 2022

In 1969, when she first arrived in the isolated village of about 1,500 people, it had an agrarian, subsistence economy.

From Scientific American • Oct. 5, 2021

She laments that climate change threatens the village’s subsistence economy.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 9, 2020

Nevertheless, in the subsistence economy of hunting and gathering, there was an obvious limit to such long-term planning.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari