Kiribati: Monetization in an Atoll Society: Managing Economic and Social Change

Abstract

The Republic of Kiribati comprises 33 atolls and reef islands stretching 5,000 km across the central-western Pacific. Its 90,000 people, with a 2001 national income (GNP1) of around $1,800 (US$950) per head, are undergoing a process of social and economic change that penetrates all aspects of Kiribati culture, organization, and activity. At the center of the process is the monetization of values and relationships. Real incomes have risen through communications, monetized trade, and financial transactions with a globalizing world economy. The same factors have weakened traditional systems of redistribution and mutual support while facilitating population growth and urbanization, with serious environmental consequences. Appropriate skills, understanding, structures, and codes of conduct are required in all areas of public and private life to enable the Kiribati economy to meet its people’s needs for a sustainable livelihood.