Although social scientists generally agree that technology plays a major role in the economy, economics and technology have yet to be brought together into a coherent framework that is both analytically interesting and empirically oriented. This book draws on the tools of science and technology...

In this paper, we provide an institutional interpretation of Schumpeter's analysis of money, banking and finance. This interpretation is founded on an overall investigation into Schumpeter's writings addressing those issues from different perspectives.In section 1, we discuss the widespread...

(Provides original sociological research on the development of consumer credit scoring in the United States and its links to subprime mortgage finance.)

This paper discusses data from a survey and in-depth interviews on elite perceptions of poverty in Brazil. De Swaan tried to identify the circumstances under which elites are willing to mobilize resources in order to promote poverty reduction. This paper questions if de Swaan’s analysis...

The study starts from the idea that the Arab countries are protagonists of a story that involves and shares us about their successes and their defeats. The Arab immigration toward Europe and the last revolutions in North Africa and Middle East show us how close to Arab people Italy is both with...

The notion of transparency is widely used as an analytical tool and as a guideline to propose and enforce new configurations of economic life. Focusing on several transparency-making devices, this paper tries to explore both the pervasiveness of this notion and its ambivalence in a number of...

This paper examines the impact of contemporary pressures on industrial districts and analyses the changes that are taking place in an industrial district confronted with disembedding and globalization. We discuss the following questions: what are the processes and consequences of disembedding...

Blood donation, distinctively characterised by both the value of the donated material itself and the process of the donation, is an emblematic sign of a universalistic and equalitarian conception of human rights. Usually, the number of blood donors living in an area is a significant proxy of the...

What accounts for creative success when the unit of innovation is a team? In particular, what are the sociological factors that explain why some ensembles are able to meet the challenge of creating a cultural product that is not only inventive but also critically acclaimed? We build on work...

Studies on spatial logics of companies? establishment more often tackle this question in terms of strategic choice of companies seeking to profit from the effects of proximity. This paper proposes to explore territorial determinants of entrepreneurial activity from the point of view of the...