Main description: The sociological study of economic activity has witnessed a significant resurgence. Recent texts have chronicled economic sociology's nineteenth-century origins while pointing to the importance of context and power in economic life, yet the field lacks a clear understanding of...

Alejandro Portes discusses the complex social, economic and cultural determinants of today's second generation of immigrants to the United States of America. He warns that unless changes are made there is a strong likelihood that members of today's second generation will join those at the bottom...

We review the empirical literature on ethnic economic enclaves after the concept was formulated 25 years ago. The balance of this literature is mixed, but many studies reporting negative conclusions were marred by faulty measurement of the concept. We discuss the original theoretical definition...

Economic sociology is a rapidly expanding field, applying sociology's core insight--that individuals behave according to scripts that are tied to social roles--to economic behavior. It places homo economicus (that tried-and-true fictive actor who is completely rational, acts only out of...