ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY. We will also rely on a number of journal articles and a couple of chapters from edited volumes.

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1 Professor Francesco Duina Office Hours: Tuesdays 2-3 ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY Course Description: Most, if not all, economic activity, whether it concerns individuals, organizations, markets, or industries, takes place in larger social contexts. Economic activity requires rules, norms, and institutions whose existence and nature cannot be explained by efficiency considerations alone. Economic activity is also affected by social capital, beliefs, norms, power structures, networks, perceptions, political structures, history, and numerous other factors. Hence, if we are interested in understanding the behavior of, for example, individuals as they purchase cars, or organizations as they choose reward and incentive mechanisms, or a country s economy, or the evolution of the insurance industry, we must inevitably analyze the surrounding contexts in which those behaviors occur. This course seeks to examine economic behavior in light of these contexts. It turns first to individuals, then to organizations, and then to markets and industries. For each, it considers real-life instances, such as the purchasing behavior of people, the internal structures of organizations, the development problems of Third World countries, or the practices of accounting, to unearth the relationship between economic and contextual variables. In the process, a number of theoretical schools of thought are considered: neoinstitutionalism, rational choice theory, world systems theory, globalization, historical sociology, and others. Required Texts: We will read a few chapters from the following textbook: Jeffrey K. Hass Economic Sociology: An Introduction. New We will also rely on a number of journal articles and a couple of chapters from edited volumes. Course Requirements: Students will be expected to write two papers. In the first paper, students will critically review the literature read thus far. The paper will be due by Wednesday of Week 3. In the second paper, students will select an economic subject matter of their choice and conduct an original analysis of the matter in question. They will be asked to present one or more alternative accounts of the observed issues and assess, whenever appropriate, the explanatory power of different approaches. The paper will be due Wednesday of Week 6. Students are expected to present the subject of their papers and their findings during that Wednesday. 1

2 Students are also expected to form teams and conduct three simple exercises. The first consists of visits to a shopping mall or shopping area, selecting a store, observing the layout of the store, observing the clientele and staff, and examining the types of goods being sold. During Week 2, two groups will present their findings to the class. The second involves conducting research on the history and structure of two industries: defense and coffee. During Week 3 two groups will present their findings to the class. The third consists of conducting research on the economic performance of two countries: South Korea and Zimbabwe. Two groups will present their findings during Week 4. Each paper will count for 35% of the grade. Class participation will count for 30%. Course Outline: Week 1. Introduction to the Course June 27: no reading June 28: Jeffrey K. Hass Pp and pp.9-18 of Economic Sociology: An Introduction. New Part I. INDIVIDUALS Week 1. Limited Options and Information June 29: Ko Kuwabara Affecting Attachment in Electronic Markets: The Case of Ebay, pp only in Victor Nee and Richard Swedberg (editors), The Economic Sociology of Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Commercials (Part I) June 30: Steve McDonald Right Place, Right Time: Serendipity and Informal Job Matching. Socio-Economic Review 2010 (8): Commercials (Part II) Week 2. Structural Contexts July 4: 2

3 Nancy A. Wonders and Raymond Michalowski Bodies, Borders, and Sex Tourism in a Globalized World: A Tale of Two Cities--Amsterdam and Havana. Social Problems Vol. 48 (4): July 5: April Linton et al A Taste of Trade Justice: Marketing Global Social Responsibility via Fair Trade Coffee, Globalizations, Vol. 1 (2): Week 2: Cultural and Historical Contexts July 6: Zelizer, Viviana A Payments and Social Ties. Sociological Forum, Vol. 11 (3): Group Exercise: Groups 1 and 2 present. July 7: Beardsworth, Alan, and Alan Bryman "Late Modernity and the Dynamics of Quasification: The Case of the Themed Restaurant." Sociological Review 47 (2): Part II. ORGANIZATIONS Week 3. Networks, Culture, and Structure Inside the Organization July 11: Jeffrey K. Hass Pp of Economic Sociology: An Introduction. New Rene, Almeling "Selling Genes, Selling Gender: Egg Agencies, Sperm Banks, and the Medical Market in Genetic Material." American Sociological Review 72 (3): July 12: Calvin Morrill et al Toward an Organizational Perspective on Identifying and Managing Formal Gatekeepers. Qualitative Sociology 22 (1): Week 3. The Environment and Organizations July 13: Sauder, Michael, and Gary Alan Fine "Arbiters, Entrepreneurs, and the Shaping of Business School Reputations." Sociological Forum 23 (4):

4 Group Exercise: Groups 3 and 4 present. July 14: Jeffrey K. Hass Pp of Economic Sociology: An Introduction. New. Week 4. Change and Organizations July 18: Campbell, John L Why Would Corporations Behave in Socially Responsible Ways? An Institutional Theory of Corporate Social Responsibility. Academy of Management Review 32 (3): July 19: Group Exercise: Groups 5 and 6 present. Part III. MARKETS AND INDUSTRIES Week 4. Making Markets and Industries July 20: Jeffrey K. Hass Pp of Economic Sociology: An Introduction. New July 21: Duina, Francesco Regional Market Building as a Social Process: An Analysis of Cognitive Strategies in NAFTA, the European Union, and Mercosur, Economy and Society, Vol. 33 (3): Week 5. Markets and the State July 25: John L. Campbell Fiscal Sociology in an Age of Globalization: Comparing Tax Regimes in Advanced Capitalist Countries, pp in Victor Nee and Richard Swedberg (editors), The Economic Sociology of Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. July 26: Jeffrey K. Hass Pp of Economic Sociology: An Introduction. New 4

5 Week 5. Markets, Relationships, and Inequalities July 27: Mitchel Y. Abolafia Making Sense of Recession: Toward an Interpretative Theory of Economic Action, pp in Victor Nee and Richard Swedberg (editors), The Economic Sociology of Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. July 28: Jeffrey K. Hass Pp of Economic Sociology: An Introduction. New Week 6. Markets, Culture, and Development August 1: Duina, Francesco Varieties of Regional Integration: The European Union, NAFTA and Mercosur. Journal of European Integration 28 (3): August 2: Taniguchi, Rie, and Sarah Babb "The Global Construction of Development Models: The US, Japan and the East Asian Miracle." Socio-Economic Review 7 (2): Week 6. Final Reflections August 3: Students present their papers August 4: Final Remarks 5