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Sociological Economics has been a prime subject of
sociological inquiry ever since the birth of sociology as a discipline, and Economic
Sociology is certainly one of the most dynamic fields of sociology today.
Economic sociology as a subdiscipline is
particularly welcome because it addresses some of the key issues of social science,
particularly the nature and functioning of economic systems. However, it raises some
fundamental questions concerning the nature of the social sciences themselves, and, in
particular, the use of the very term 'economic sociology'. - Geoff Hodgson.
Economic sociology, like many fields experiencing
a burst of intellectual energy, seems rather inchoate. Its fuzzy outlines are due in part
to the variety of its research programs, which have just enough overlap or family
resemblance to be lumped together. Relations between economic sociology and economics are
bound to be a moving front. - Randall Collins.
Socioeconomics, sociological economics, economic
sociology: what are we talking about? Why don't we just speak of social science? That
would have the advantages of claiming "science" (to be understood as systematic
inquiry) and of relegating economics to a corner of the field, to become a subdiscipline
of that larger domain "social science" from now on. - Arjo Klamer.
Fundamental differences in style, method, and
assumption divide sociology and economics, as Paul Hirsch, Stuart Michaels, and Ray
Friedman noted in their essay on the "clean models" of economics versus the
"dirty hands" of sociology. Bridging the "philosophical divide"
between sociology and economics can stimulate new theory and enhance our relevance to
policy. - Wayne E. Baker
What is Economic Sociology?
Economic sociology is one of the hot developing areas in sociology. In the wake of
increasing globalization of the economy and transformations in the relationship between
states and markets, many scholars have become increasingly aware of the need for
systematic analyses of the social dimensions of economic institutions and practices.
Joseph Stiglitz (chief economist of the world bank in 1999 and former head of the
President’s Council of Economic Advisors) has argued that the formal models developed
by economists for understanding the economy are inadequate for understanding the dilemmas
faced by the world economy today, and must be supplemented by a variety of more
sociological and institutional approaches. Few economists have either the taste or
academic preparation for this endeavor, which has largely been pursued by sociologists and
political scientists under a variety of rubrics: economic sociology, comparative political
economy, studies of economic regulation, economic geography. Expressed in different ways,
their central project is to understand the ways in which various kinds of institutions and
social processes -- the state and political power, social networks, social norms, unions
and secondary associations -- play an essential role in explaining the actual functioning
of real economies. - Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. |
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