Subsidies or welfare? An anthropological-legal-economic assessment of Arctic traditional economies in Eurasia

Reindeer herding and other northern (indigenous) economies are of crucial cultural and social importance for Arctic residents, as well as structurally for their areas that often do not offer much other employment opportunities. On the other hand, many outsiders think of these livelihoods as being economically unviable, and cost-intensive. Especially in the Russian half of the Arctic but also elsewhere, inhabitants of remote communities often rely on state welfare payments to sustain themselves.

This project shall study comparatively the costs of such welfare benefits with the costs and revenues of Arctic animal husbandry in the Finnish and Russian Arctic.

The interdisciplinary analysis in economics, anthropology and law will show how subsidising northern land-based economies such as animal husbandry is better social policy than welfare payments for remote Arctic citizens. A team of researchers from Finland and Russia will jointly assess the economic, social and cultural implications of state decisions to distribute payments to their Arctic residents. Three in-depth studies shall show the value-chains on a local level. The results shall be useful for raising the reputation of the northern economic actors, and help with evidence in discussion with state agencies on the distribution of financial resources to Arctic inhabitants.