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Economic Sociology

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The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

Abstract

The term ‘economic sociology’, used primarily by sociologists, is defined as the application of sociological concepts and methods of analysis to economic phenomena. Founded by Durkheim, Weber, and Simmel, and continued by Schumpeter and Polanyi, it began to flourish in the mid-1980s around the notion that economic actions are embedded in personal networks. The concept of networks and other concepts and perspectives from ‘new economic sociology’ facilitate the analysis of topics like the links between corporations and between firms, job search, production markets, finance markets, insurance markets, industrial markets, consumption, and ethnic entrepreneurship. Its long-term impact on economics remains uncertain.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

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  1. http://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5

    Richard Swedberg

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  1. Richard Swedberg
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    Swedberg, R. (2008). Economic Sociology. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2111-1

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2111-1

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    • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

    • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

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