Markets and Economic Institutions: Is New Economic Sociology a Serious Contender?

Abstract

This paper attempts to evaluate the contributions of mainstream economic sociology on its reconceptualization of markets and economic institutions. By doing so, it discusses whether new economic sociology can be a serious contender to conventional economic thinking. After critically reviewing a selected set of ideal-typical works from the sub-field, ranging from embeddedness/network and field analyses to performativist accounts, it reaches the conclusion that the new economic sociology cannot pose a serious threat to the conventional way of doing economics-- largely due to the fact that both intellectual traditions share a great deal of common understanding of power relations in society. For the new economic sociology to elevate itself from a mere equivalent of imperfect competition in economics, it should rather benefit from a long tradition of scholarly work in political sociology; and institutionalist accounts within the very sub-field itself seem to be the main valid candidate to pursue such a course of action.