"Fast, Easy, and in Cash is a welcome breath of fresh air in the study of artisans."

American Anthropologist

"Readers keen to understand what current economic anthropology has to offer need look no further than this fruitful collaboration from Jason Antrosio and Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld. Written in their typical straightforward, lightly humorous style, Fast, Easy, and In Cash charts a set of dynamics common to artisan economies in Andean South America, but with obvious applications elsewhere. Its key contribution is to embed artisan production and sale firmly within a capitalist economy, in ways that disrupt several key assumptions of classical/neo-classical economic theory and representations of the artisans themselves."

Journal of Cultural Economy

"Investigates what enables some artisan marketplaces to withstand economic dislocation and global competition. Explores the value of cultural identity in sustaining cooperation among rivals within community trade and the fate of ideas and innovation in an economy without intellectual-property protections, focusing on the Northern Andes."

Journal of Economic Literature

“With engaging stories and descriptions, Fast, Easy, and In Cash shows how home based artisans in the Northern Andes reach world markets with innovations built on a cultural commons. Through their sophisticated account that focuses on the margins, Antrosio and Colloredo-Mansfeld reveal many dynamics of central capitalism from profit making, to winner-take-all markets, to Ponzi schemes.”

Stephen Gudeman, University of Minnesota

“This ethnography is innovative, well written, and important. The authors are pioneers in the analysis and comparison of artisanal production in both Ecuador and Colombia using the concepts of the cultural commons and invasive economies as an exceptional theoretical framework. In addition, it is truly a pleasure to read. ”

Lynn Meisch, Saint Mary’s College of California

“Fast, Easy, and In Cash is the most thought-provoking economic anthropology book I have read in the past decade. Antrosio and Colloredo-Mansfeld use material from their fieldwork among artisan entrepreneurs in the Ecuadorean Andes to examine recent provocative arguments by economists, such as risk-taking, innovation, and winner-take-all competitions. Their lively prose, intriguing illustrations, and fascinating case studies make this book accessible and stimulating.”

Michael Chibnik, University of Iowa