The Architecture of Markets
An Economic Sociology of Twenty-First-Century Capitalist Societies
Will be published approx. on 6. October 2002
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-0-691-10254-2 (ISBN)
Description
Market societies have created more wealth, and more opportunities for more people, than any other system of social organization in history. Yet we still have a rudimentary understanding of how markets themselves are social constructions that require extensive institutional support. This groundbreaking work seeks to fill this gap, to make sense of modern capitalism by developing a sociological theory of market institutions. Addressing the unruly dynamism that capitalism brings with it, leading sociologist Neil Fligstein argues that the basic drift of any one market and its actors, even allowing for competition, is toward stabilization. The Architecture of Markets represents a major and timely step beyond recent, largely empirical studies that oppose the neoclassical model of perfect competition but provide sparse theory toward a coherent economic sociology. Fligstein offers this theory. With it he interprets not just globalization and the information economy, but developments more specific to American capitalism in the past two decades--among them, the 1980s merger movement.
He makes new inroads into the "theory of fields," which links the formation of markets and firms to the problems of stability. His political-cultural approach explains why governments remain crucial to markets and why so many national variations of capitalism endure. States help make stable markets possible by, for example, establishing the rule of law and adjudicating the class struggle. State-building and market-building go hand in hand. Fligstein shows that market actors depend mightily upon governments and the members of society for the social conditions that produce wealth. He demonstrates that systems favoring more social justice and redistribution can yield stable markets and economic growth as readily as less egalitarian systems. This book will surely join the classics on capitalism. Economists, sociologists, policymakers, and all those interested in what makes markets function as they do will read it for many years to come.
He makes new inroads into the "theory of fields," which links the formation of markets and firms to the problems of stability. His political-cultural approach explains why governments remain crucial to markets and why so many national variations of capitalism endure. States help make stable markets possible by, for example, establishing the rule of law and adjudicating the class struggle. State-building and market-building go hand in hand. Fligstein shows that market actors depend mightily upon governments and the members of society for the social conditions that produce wealth. He demonstrates that systems favoring more social justice and redistribution can yield stable markets and economic growth as readily as less egalitarian systems. This book will surely join the classics on capitalism. Economists, sociologists, policymakers, and all those interested in what makes markets function as they do will read it for many years to come.
Reviews / Votes
Winner of the 2003 Distinguished Book Award "Until the appearance of Fligstein's new book ... no one has attempted to integrate economic sociology into a coherent, consistent, and comprehensive approach for the study of market capitalism. This book, therefore, sets a standard for other books that will follow in the coming decades. By all measures, it is an impressive book that deserves careful reading by everyone interested in the analysis of capitalist economies."--Gary G. Hamilton, American Journal of Sociology "This is an important book. It ... will undoubtedly redirect research attention and encourage new work on the rules and politics that structure market relations. This book pushes us forward and suggests a rich vein waiting to be mined."--Mitchel Y. Abolafia, Administrative Science QuarterlyMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
18 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
478 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-10254-2 (9780691102542)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Neil Fligstein
The Architecture of Markets
An Economic Sociology of Twenty-First-Century Capitalist Societies
E-Book
11/2018
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€46.99
Available for download
Person
Neil Fligstein is Professor of Sociology and Class of 1939 Chancellor's Professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of "The Transformation of Corporate Control".
Content
List of Tables xi Preface xiii 1. Bringing Sociology Back In 3 A Critique of the E isting Literature in the Sociology of Markets 6 Theoretical Questions for a Sociology of Markets 10 A Political-Cultural Approach 15 Structure of the Book 20 Nor ative Implications of the Political-Cultural Approach to the Sociology of Markets 21 PART I 25 2. Markets as Institutions 27 Market Institutions: Basic Definitions 28 State Building and Market Building 36 Power in Policy Domains and Market Institutions 42 3. The Politics of the Creation of Market Institutions 45 Political Structuring of Labor Market Institutions 53 Policy Domains and Market Regulation in Real Societies 56 Stability and Complexity 59 Implications for Research 62 Conclusion 64 4. The Theory of Fields and the Problem of Market Formation 67 Markets as Fields 67 The Goal of Action in Stable Markets 70 The Proble of Change and Stability in Markets 75 Links between Market For ation and States 86 Some Macro Implications of the Theory of Fields 89 Globalization and Market Processes 94 Conclusion 97 PART II 99 5. The Logic of Employment Systems 101 Employment Systems as Institutional Projects 103 Variations and Transfor ations in Employment Systems 107 The Dynamics of Systems of Employment Relations 108 Insights into Comparative Employment Systems 111 Research Agendas 117 Conclusion 120 6. The Dynamics of U.S. Firms and the Issue of Ownership and Control in the 1970s 123 Review of the Literature 124 Manage ent versus Owner Control 125 Bank Control 126 Market Dynamics and Manage ent Control 128 Hypotheses 130 Data and Methods 132 Results 136 Discussion and Conclusions 144 Appendix A 146 7. The Rise of the Shareholder Value Conception of the Firm and the Merger Movement in the 1980s 147 What Is to Be Explained? 150 Finance Economics 151 Manager, Owner, and Bank Control 153 The Crisis of the Finance Conception of Control and the Rise of the Shareholder Value Conception of Control 155 Hypotheses 157 Data and Methods 158 Results 162 Conclusion 166 8. Corporate Control in Capitalist Societies 170 Economic Theories and Mechanisms 172 Sociological Theories of Control 176 Comparative Cases 181 Conclusion 189 9. Globalization 191 Definitions of Globalization 193 Critique of Globalization Arguments 195 The Slow Expansion and Unevenness of Global Trade 196 Change or Continuity in the Organization of Production? 203 Does Globalization Cause Deindustrialization and Inequality? 206 Politics, Govern ents, and Financial Markets 209 Trade, Competition, Industrial Policy, and the Welfare State 213 Globalization and Neoliberalis as an American Project 220 Conclusion 221 0. Conclusions 223 Two Tales of One Industry 223 Stability and Efficiency 228 Efficiency, Stability, and Equity 231 Conclusion 236 Notes 239 Bibliography 247 Index 269