The issue of ethnic identity—or more aptly the “cultural well-being” of indigenous peoples—has never been explicitly discussed in development economics. Development economics has as its academic concern the pursuit of economic well-being and is often unconcerned with such cultural aspects of human well-being as individual dignity and self-esteem. Moreover, development economics does not view individuals as actors who carry and embody a particular set of values and beliefs.
 With this reflection, the author employs a delineated case study of urban migration and adaptation, involving the Badjaos of Davao City, to examine the question of how people can improve their standard of living in their material and economic life without losing their sense of ethnic identity. The data for this study were collected through long-term fieldwork from August 1997 to December 1999. The analytical description of the adaptive process suggests that for them to survive both economically and culturally, it is necessary to have a cultural intermediary who assists them in acquiring the knowledge, information and values that will enable them to navigate across the horizons of economic opportunity.

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