The Tribal Economy

Abstract

This essay utilises the concept of the “Māori economy” to explore the story of Māori poverty following colonisation and enrichment after settlement. It merges settler colonisation and institutional economics theories into an analytical framework. Using this framework, it examines the role of settler institutions in Māori impoverishment and makes the case that there is no contemporary Māori economy, arguing a true Māori economy requires culturally-matched political, legal and economic institutions and that without these institutions Māori risk their Treaty settlement funds leaking back into the settler economy.