Exchange, Action, and Social Structure: Elements of Economic Sociology

(Hardback)

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Applies an alternative, sociological approach to exchange and related economic phenomena. This unique volume provides a new interpretation and synthesis of network exchange theory in an effort to contribute to a neo-Weberian economic sociology. Arguing against commonly held assumptions about network exchange theory and its interpretation of all social actions as economic exchanges, Zafirovski seeks to explain these processes by employing an interdisciplinary approach and by examining the impact of social and institutional structures on market-economic exchange. The author argues that economic structure, processes, and actions are the outcomes of social action and institutions, not the other way around. This "rehabilitation" of economic sociology begins with a reconsideration of the character, scope, and development of the field. The author then grounds his sociological approach to economic exchange in social action and structure before examining the role of social motivations in economic exchange. He then examines the political structuration, the cultural constitution, and the social construction of economic exchange and exchange cycles. The book concludes with a discussion of the character and variation of economic exchange in comparative social systems and the relationships of exchange, economic development, and social variables. This unique and persuasive book is an important contribution to the study of economic sociology and sociological theory.

Reviews

"Zafirovski provides a detailed analysis of different economic approaches from a sociological point of view....[T]his is an important book which offers a useful alternative to the dominant economic paradigm."-Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare
Zafirovski provides a detailed analysis of different economic approaches from a sociological point of view....[T]his is an important book which offers a useful alternative to the dominant economic paradigm.-Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

Author Bio

MILAN ZAFIROVSKI is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of North Texas.