Description
Book Synopsis* Develops an exciting new cultural approach to the study of markets that helps to explain some of the puzzles and oddities in the way markets work. * Reveals the important and implicit role that cultural dynamics play in the way markets are organized and the way people operate within them.
Trade Review"Fred Wherry elegantly introduces students to the cultural approach in economic sociology. Wearing his theoretical sophistication lightly, Wherry provides dozens of pithy illustrations from cutting-edge empirical research. This classy essay is deceptively simple. It provides the first synthetic construction of the cultural-economic field."
Jeffrey C. Alexander, Yale University "Engaging and insightful, Frederick Wherry's The Culture of Markets brings together two allegedly separate worlds: markets and culture. Ranging from studies of corporations and households to art markets and more, the book surprises and instructs. A must read not only for specialists but for anyone interested in learning how the economy really works."
Viviana A. Zelizer, Princeton University
"This is an excellent book by one of today's most creative economic sociologists, Frederick Wherry. The key argument is that culture affects markets in ways that economics simply cannot capture. Exactly how does this happen? For the answer - which is surprising! - you have to read the book. Perfect for use as a textbook at the undergraduate level, but also of much interest to the general reader and graduate students."
Richard Swedberg, Cornell University
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Culture, Markets, and Economic Life
Chapter 1: The Cultural Roots of Market Demand
Chapter 2: The Cultural Dimensions of Market Supply
Chapter 3: The Culture of Money and Prices
Chapter 4: How to Conduct Cultural Analyses of Markets
Conclusion: Towards a Cultural Sociology of Markets
