Economic Strategies among Long-Term Homeless People: The concept of Harvesting Economy

Abstract

The life and economic situation of a homeless person appear chaotic from the standpoint of the domiciled citizen, yet the social and economic strategies of homeless people can be understood as the outcome of conscious deliberation and as rational in light of their difficult situation. The frame of this paper’s argument is the concept of a harvesting economy as applied to the economic strategies that homeless people make use of when managing daily life. Based on interviews and participant observation among persons who have experienced long-term homelessness, the authors argue that within the harvesting economy the actors rely on their social relationships to cope, and find that their social networks and economic strategies reinforce each other. Another important aspect of the harvesting economy is the short-term time perspective, which makes homeless individuals sufficiently flexible to cope with their day-to-day life. The paper also considers whether the role of homelessness service providers reinforces these economic strategies among homeless persons.