Tonga, the South Pacific island kingdom located east of Fiji and south of Samoa, is one of the world s few remaining constitutional monarchies. Although Tonga has long been linked to the world system through markets and political relationships, in the last few decades emerging regional and global structures have had particularly intense and transformative effects. Today, because of greatly increased labour migration, people, money, and resources are in constant circulation among Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.

In "Persistence of the Gift, " Evans provides a...