subsistence economy

subsistence economy (countable and uncountable, plural subsistence economies)

1. (economics) an often moneyless economy characterized by minimal surplus and exchange of goods and services, low division of labor and rudimentary technology

• subsistence farming

• “subsistence economy”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “subsistence economy”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “subsistence economy”, in Collins English Dictionary.