Premium
Economic Sociology vs. Real Life: The Case of Grocery Shopping
Author(s) -
Koch Shelley L.,
Sprague Joey
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american journal of economics and sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.199
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1536-7150
pISSN - 0002-9246
DOI - 10.1111/ajes.12065
Subject(s) - economic sociology , sociology , ethnography , character (mathematics) , economic analysis , economics , social science , classical economics , geometry , mathematics , anthropology
Economic sociology improves on neoclassical economics but underanalyzes the economic activity of the consumer, leaving the assumption of consumer sovereignty unchallenged. We believe economic sociology marginalizes consumer activity because it is written from the standpoint of privileged men. Using institutional ethnography, we examine economic activity beginning from a standpoint of the person who grocery shops for a family. Starting from this standpoint exposes the gendered character of both the economy and economic sociology's conventional approach to analyzing it.