The sociological approach to financial markets

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

70 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

As a part of the renaissance and growth of economic sociology during the past two decades, and in response to processes such as economic globalization, financial markets have been increasingly scrutinized by sociologists. Their investigation is seen as relevant with respect to understanding the structure and dynamics of advanced societies, the dynamics of social development, as well as fundamental aspects of human behaviour. This paper charts recent developments in the sociology of financial markets; its starting point is the treatment of the concept of information within three sociological orientations: the social-structural approach, sociological neo-institutionalism and the newer social studies of finance. By highlighting their different assumptions about information and market behaviour, I discuss how these approaches conceptualize financial markets, the methodological implications and the ways in which they contribute to the study of financial exchanges.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)506-533
Number of pages28
JournalJournal of Economic Surveys
Volume21
Issue number3
Early online date15 Jun 2007
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2007
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cognition
  • Economic behaviour
  • Financial markets
  • Information

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