Worlds of production : the action frameworks of the economy
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Worlds of production : the action frameworks of the economy
Harvard University Press, 1997
- Other Title
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Les mondes de production
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Note
Rev. translation of: Les mondes de production : enquête sur l'identité économique de la France / Robert Salais et Michael Storper
Includes bibliographical references and indexes
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This intellectually bold but accessible book seeks to go beyond limitations of the reigning neoclassical and institutional paradigms in explaining the organization of economic activity. It does this by construing "non-economic" factors such as institutions, cultures, and social practices as conventions, which coordinate economic actors by defining specific "frameworks of economic action." In these conventional frameworks, the standard distinction between economic and non-economic no longer exists. The authors explore in detail four basic frameworks-or "possible worlds of production"-which underpin the mobilization of economic resources, the organization of production systems and factor markets, patterns of economic decision making, and forms of profitability. The case studies examine how these possible worlds act to support innovative production complexes in a variety of sectors in several countries.
Michael Storper and Robert Salais show that economic actors coordinate actions with one another and interpret what others are doing in ways that are constructed by convention. The principal challenge to economic policy today, they argue, is to reconcile internally coherent conventions with the external tests of product and financial markets, which tend increasingly to escape jurisdictional borders. There is no single model of growth and efficiency that brings these two sides together around the world today, even in narrowly defined product markets. If policies are to deal effectively with an increasingly unified global system of flows of commodities, money, and people, they must be aware of the diverse, economically viable action frameworks found in different industries, regions, and nations.
Table of Contents
Theorizing Economic Diversity and Economic Action Action and Diversity versus Models of Growth Possible Worlds of Production Firms, Profits, Work, and Innovation Situating Firms in Worlds of Production Worlds of Production in Three Countries Identifying Real Worlds of Production in France, Italy, and the United States France: Innovative Real Worlds of Fashion and High Technology Italy: Interpersonal Action and the Division of Labor California High Technology: The Intellectual World in a Market Context Selection, Stability, and Transformation of Real Worlds of Production Institutions, States, and the Coordination of Real Worlds States and Institutions as Conventions State Intervention: A Critique of the French Case Competitiveness, Sutuated States, and Real Worlds in Three Countries Conventions, Economic Action, and Institutions A Critique of Contemporary Institutialism Towards a Theory of Conventions, Economic Action, and Economic Development Notes References Name Index Subject Index
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