ACMS VIRTUAL SPEAKER SERIES |
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“We Can’t Insure Prize-Winning Race Horses Anymore:” On Attempts to Algorithmize Pastoral Production in Mongolia
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In the early 2010's, the World Bank promoted index-based livestock insurance programs around the world, and #Mongolia was the first country to fully implement the program. The intent of the program was to address the periodic seasonal loss of livestock through extreme weather events (#dzud), said to be increasing in severity through climate change. This includes the effort to discipline Mongolian herders and rationalize governance of the national economy, embraced by many Mongolian policymakers based in Ulaanbaatar. However, as the allocation of compensation is decided by a mathematical formula, the program affected relationships among policymakers, herders, and livestock. This talk outlines the history and emerging successors of the program in light of these challenges, considering “traditional” and socialist-era concepts and practices also known as daatgal.
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About the presenter: Marissa Smith, PhD
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Marissa J. Smith is an anthropologist and has worked across Mongolia since 2007. She holds a PhD from Princeton University and currently collaborates with the Mongolia Initiative and Central Asia Working Group at UC-Berkeley. Dr. Smith’s research focuses on economy and politics in Mongolia, from the scale of individuals and households, to local regions, to international networks.
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The American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting scholarship in Mongolian Studies. The ACMS Speaker Series are organized in partnership with the U.S. Embassy and the Natsagdorj Library and provides an important platform for researchers engaged in Mongolia to share their experiences and findings with the public. The event promotes information exchange on a variety of subjects related to Mongolia and is free and open to the public. |
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