New Institutionalism in Sociology

"Institutions play a pivotal role in structuring economic and social transactions, and an understanding of the foundations of social norms, networks, and beliefs within institutions is crucial to explaining much of what occurs in modern economies. This volume integrates two increasingly visible streams of research - economic sociology and new institutional economics - to better understand how ties among individuals and groups facilitate economic activity alongside and against the formal rules that regulate economic processes via government and law." --from back cover.