Economic sociology
Subtitle: subtitle a systematic inquiry
By: Alejandro Portes.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Princeton, NJ
Language: eng
Number of pages: 307
ISBN-13: 9780691142227; 9780691142234
Subjects: Economics -- Sociological aspects
Description: "The sociological study of economic activity has witnessed a significant resurgence. Recent texts have chronicled economic sociology's nineteenth-century origins while pointing to the importance of context and power in economic life, yet the field lacks a clear understanding of the role that concepts at different levels of abstraction play in its organization. Economic Sociology fills this critical gap by surveying the current state of the field while advancing a framework for further theoretical development. Alejandro Portes examines economic sociology's principal assumptions, key explanatory concepts, and selected research sites. He argues that economic activity is embedded in social and cultural relations, but also that power and the unintended consequences of rational purposive action must be factored in when seeking to explain or predict economic behavior. Drawing upon a wealth of examples, Portes identifies three strategic sites of research--the informal economy, ethnic enclaves, and transnational communities--and he eschews grand narratives in favor of mid-range theories that help us understand specific kinds of social action."--GoogleBooks.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Economic sociology : past achievements and present challenges; title: The assumptions that ground the field; title: Social capital; title: The concept of institutions; title: The concept of social class; title: Social class (continued); title: The informal economy; title: Ethnic enclaves and middleman minorities; title: Transnational communities; title: Markets, models, and regulation.