Tribal economy is looked at with two different perspectives. One looks at the tribal economy from the point of view of production, distribution and consumption. The second perspective is actor-oriented, which is basically the perspective of classical economics, according to which the actors use the available means to maximize value.
The first perspective is normally called the formal perspective, which looks at economics from the perspective of a system. It is, therefore, also called the system-oriented perspective of economy. For instance, Dumont, who has studied the caste system in India, looks at it as an ethnocentric phenomenon.
It means, economic activities-production, distribution, exchange and consumption-are dictated by the caste system. If, for instance, the Santhals of Bihar take rice as their staple food, the cultivation of rice is not determined by the actor.
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It is the Santhal tribe which decides to grow rice as it is their main commodity. Similarly, the people of Karnataka consume ragi as their staple cereal.
This is determined by the group and, therefore, it is system-oriented. In the study of Swat-an African tribe-Sahlins contests the actor-oriented economy or rational economy and argues that the tribals take their crops on the dictates of the community.