The Handbook of Economic Sociology - 2nd Edition by Neil J Smelser & Richard Swedberg (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Second Edition is the most comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of economic sociology available. The first edition, copublished in 1994 by Princeton University Press and the Russell Sage Foundation as a synthesis of the burgeoning field of economic sociology, soon established itself as the definitive presentation of the field, and has been widely read, reviewed, and adopted. Since then, the field of economic sociology has continued to grow by leaps and bounds and to move into new theoretical and empirical territory.

The second edition, while being as all-embracing in its coverage as the first edition, represents a wholesale revamping. Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg have kept the main overall framework intact, but nearly two-thirds of the chapters are new or have new authors. As in the first edition, they bring together leading sociologists as well as representatives of other social sciences. But the thirty chapters of this volume incorporate many substantial thematic changes and new lines of research--for example, more focus on international and global concerns, chapters on institutional analysis, the transition from socialist economies, organization and networks, and the economic sociology of the ancient world. The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Second Edition is the definitive resource on what continues to be one of the leading edges of sociology and one of its most important interdisciplinary adventures. It is a must read for all faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates doing work in the field.

• A thoroughly revised and updated version of the most comprehensive treatment of economic sociology available


• Almost two-thirds of the chapters are new or have new authors


• Authors include leading sociologists as well as representatives of other social sciences


• Substantial thematic changes and new lines of research, including more focus on international and global concerns, institutional analysis, the transition from socialist economies, and organization and networks


• The definitive resource on what continues to be one of the leading edges of sociology and one of its most important interdisciplinary adventures


• A must read for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates doing work in the field

Review Quotes

"From review of Princeton's original edition: "This excellent volume is a compilation of some of the best writing in this field over the past decade, including basic works like Oliver Williamson's transaction cost theory of the firm, and [is] a helpful comparison of economic sociology to mainstream economics.""---Francis Fukuyama, Foreign Affairs

"[O]ne difference between economists and sociologists is in the questions asked. For example, if jobs were relatively homogenous, the economist would . . . only be concerned about the total number and the wage level. The sociologist might well be interested in the non-economic explanation of who goes to which job. But . . . it is clear that the social aspects can affect outcomes that even the economist is interested in. Anyone wishing to study these important matters will have to start with The Handbook of Economic Sociology."-- "Times Literary Supplement"

"[This book] confirms the impression that economic sociology is rapidly becoming a powerful force in academic life. . . . It can be strongly recommended for the intrinsic interest of its subject matter and for the individual merit of most of its contributions. . . . Mainstream economists now have some serious competition to face."-- "Journal of Economic History"

"[T]here is a great deal of interesting research and theoretical reflection going on under the rubric of economic sociology, and the Handbook is certainly the best available guide to this."-- "Review of International Political Economy"

"From review of Princeton's original edition: "A unique and invaluable survey of this rapidly developing field of scholarship.""-- "Choice"

"The 31 articles which make up the Handbook are, without exception, of superb quality, expressing scholarship at its best. . . . The book's range of topics, authoritative articles, and summary of past accomplishments and contemporary research certainly will serve for many years as the crystallizing nucleus of the reincarnated field of economic sociology."-- "Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics"

About the Author

Neil J. Smelser was formerly University Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was on faculty from 1958 to 1994, and Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University (1994-2001). He is the coauthor (with Talcott Parsons) of Economy and Society and the author of The Sociology of Economic Life. Richard Swedberg is Professor of Sociology and Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Economy and Society at Cornell University. He is the author of Principles of Economic Sociology and Max Weber and the Idea of Economic Sociology (both Princeton) and the coeditor of The Economic Sociology of Capitalism.