It has been widely assumed that market mechanisms are central in incentivizing the development of sustainable innovations and that market formation is critical for the diffusion of innovations. We challenge the centrality of markets in understanding and promoting the development and diffusion of sustainable innovations using the case of the System of Rice Intensification. This innovation for sustainable rice cultivation was developed and diffused without relying on market mechanisms yet has been adopted by millions of farmers worldwide. To further our understanding of economic mechanisms beyond markets, we revisit Polanyi's distinction between markets, reciprocity, redistribution, and subsistence. This distinction helps to situate markets in a broader economic context and helps to understand how mechanisms for market exchange intersect with other types of economies in ways that can either positively or negatively affect sustainability.

人们普遍认为，市场机制是激励可持续创新发展的核心，而市场形成对于创新的传播至关重要。我们以水稻集约化系统为例，挑战市场在理解和促进可持续创新的发展和传播方面的中心地位。这种可持续水稻种植的创新是在不依赖市场机制的情况下开发和推广的，但已被全球数百万农民采用。为了进一步理解市场之外的经济机制，我们重新审视波兰尼对市场、互惠、再分配和生存的区分。