Markets in their Place: Context, Culture, Finance

Markets are not abstract but are embedded in particular places, which emerge in the various political, social, cultural, and environmental relations that exist in and between places. This collection of essays approaches markets from the ground up, from the South Pacific, and shows how complex local, social, and cultural politics matter to how markets are made within and between places. It will be of particular interest to scholars and students working in and between economic geography, cultural economy, political economy, economic sociology, and more.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 27 July 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Markets are frequently discussed in lofty abstractions, as an economic organizing principle, a generalized alternative to government planning, or even as powerful actors in their own right, capable of shaping local and national economic destinies. However, markets are not abstract. Even as the idea of the market captivates politicians worldwide, it constantly clashes with material reality. Markets are always somewhere, in place, and it is in place that the smooth theories of markets falter and fail. More than simply being embedded in particular places, markets necessarily emerge within the various political, social, cultural, and environmental relations that exist in and between places. Markets shape places, but the reverse is also true.

This collection of essays takes a ground-up approach to markets, focusing on a region often considered peripheral to global capitalism: the South Pacific. With a diverse range of case studies, encompassing indigenous economies, childcare, agriculture, wine, electricity metering, finance, education, and housing, the authors demonstrate how complex local, social, and cultural politics shape the formation of markets within and between places. They explore how seemingly similar markets operate differently in different contexts, as well as why, and examine how market relations are constructed in places outside and on the margins of Western capitalism, shedding light on how markets are understood in those centers.

The book will hold particular interest to scholars and students engaged in the fields of economic geography, cultural economy, political economy, economic sociology, and related disciplines.

Weight: 512g
Dimension: 160 x 242 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367273408