Sociologia econômica e política

Center for European Studies
Working Paper Series 129
Unbalanced Growth: Why Is Economic Sociology
Stronger in Theory Than in Policies?
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by
Carlo Trigilia
Professor of Economic Sociology
Faculty of Political Sciences
University of Florence
Via Delle Pandette, 21
50127 Firenze, Italy
E-mail: trigilia@unifi.it
Abstract
The aim of this article is to discuss the relationship between economic sociology and economic
policies. In the last decades, economic sociology has made significant achievements in terms of
theory and research, but that its influence on policies has remained weak. While this was inevitable in earlier decades, when scholars had to concentrate most of their effort  on defining the role
and contribution of economic sociology, it has since become a constraint for the institutionalization and recognition of the discipline. The return to economic sociology, since the 1980s, has
brought about important theoretical achievements, especially in the analysis of economic organization at the micro level in terms of social and cultural embeddedness. The role of social relations
in contemporary economy has clearly emerged, but its implications for policies to promote economic development have remained more latent so far. Although a weaker institutionalization
and a poorer connection to policy-making certainly affect the political influence of economic sociology in comparison to economics, the paper focuses on the research perspective. A shift of the
research focus from the statics to the dynamics of economic organization could be useful. In this
framework, particular attention is drawn to the study of local development and innovation
through a closer relationship of economic sociology with comparative political economy. A separation between these two approaches does not favor a full exploitation of the potential contribution of economic sociology to policies.
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