States, social movements and markets†

The field of socio-economics has been dominated by two perspectives: political economy and economic sociology. Political economy has generally stressed how the political and economic institutions of capitalism interact to produce unique and dynamic national capitalisms. That perspective emphasizes the way in which the relative strength of workers, capitalists and the state in capitalist systems determines the institutional conditions that operate to structure the dynamics of societies. Economic sociology has been more interested in market dynamics. It has focused on the role of institutional logics, market devices, networks and the social structuring of markets around incumbent–challenger structures to explain stability and change in markets. Economic sociology has also paid attention to the role of the state in producing market opportunities and crises, particularly in its role as regulator, but also often as an unintentional disruptor, of markets. Both perspectives tend toward a structural view of the relationship between states and markets. The conditions under which emergence, stability and change occur are governed by the dynamics of existing structural arrangements. For proponents of political economy, it is the larger architecture of societies and the balance of power within the political and economic system that shapes responses to crises and opportunities. In contrast, economic sociologists are more market centered, stressing the importance of the shared understandings around how the market works, network position and the role of market devices that operate to structure interaction. Both perspectives share the view that actors only matter insofar as they are bounded rational and steeped in the local culture of a particular market that allows them to perceive what is happening. This is what allows them to ‘act’ in accordance with the opportunities and constraints presented by their structural situations.