Economy/Society

Markets, Meanings, and Social Structure

Economy/Society is one of the book on which this course is based. Students very much appreciate the clear overview and the examples. Together with journal articles, this book provides them with a good understanding of how sociologists investigate economic processes.

A fine book in this relatively niche area. Looks at this area from a fresh perspective and lends a counter argument to much mainstream economic literature

Carruthers and Babb present an excellent textbook both for those working in fields that transcend a simple view of Economics as an optimization science and to more orthodox economists interested in expand their mental maps of economic science. It debates how markets are embedded in societies and depend on social structures and institutions that frame their functioning. In this way, the authors show that markets are neither the only institution nor the most relevant one in economic order. The book, anchored in notions, such embeddedness and networks that are being developed in the scope of Economic Sociology, provides the understanding of the interconnections between economy and society, facilitating a deeper comprehension of organizations, finance, inequalities and development. It is a textbook that I will recommend to postgraduate students but also at undergraduate level in introductory disciples of Economics .