Blackwell Reference Online

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Financial sociology is the study of the relationship between finance, defined as the science of money management, and human society. In addition to money management, finance includes the management of money surrogates, capital instruments and markets, organizations and institutions, households, and governments. Finance is defined, structured, and regulated within a system of national and international laws that reflect power relations within political economies and across state and global markets. In practice, finance is art (e.g., negotiation) and science (e.g., measurement). Financial measurement of the firm and of investments constitutes the major emphasis within the field of economics as a subdiscipline of finance economics. The entire field of finance may be subsumed within the larger field of economics. Likewise, topics within financial sociology can be found in publications, or taught in courses, on economic sociology. Relevant financial laws, structures, and policies govern the circulation of money within and among nations and cover various types of money surrogates as well: (1) checks, drafts, debit cards and other plastic cards that store value, or permit deferred payment such as charge cards and credit cards; (2) marketable and unmarketable securities such as notes, stocks, bonds, and shares of other pooled interests; (3) property and the resources that derive from property ... log in or subscribe to read full text