Money and Credit

Bruce G. Carruthers is Professor of Sociology at Northwestern UniversityLaura Ariovich is Becaria Superior at the University of Buenos Aires

"Very well timed; without jumping to conclusions about the crisis, the book presents an alternative, indeed a sociological, approach to finance."Sociology "By providing such a comprehensive overview of the non-economic studies of money and endorsing their political and social dimension, Money and Credit will be a good introduction to the subject for all those interested, regardless of whether their focus is economic, political or sociological."Political Studies Review "Carruthers and Ariovich view the mysteries of money and credit through a distinctively sociological lens. They treat this complex and difficult subject in a way that is illuminating, accessible, and concise, yet subtle and sophisticated - the gold standard of academic writing."Mark Granovetter, Stanford University "Money and Credit offers a pithy, fast-moving introduction to the sociology of money and credit, chronicling where modern monetary systems came from, how people assign social meaning to money, how consumer and corporate credit markets developed, and how the current system of credit operates for families and Fortune-500 companies alike. Carruthers and Ariovich provide insights not only into how modern currency and credit markets work, but into why they sometimes fail to stabilize value or to ensure that credit is given only where credit is due. This lucid and engaging book should be required reading for students of economic sociology."Frank Dobbin, Harvard University"Few books succeed in being both scholarly studies and textbooks at one and the same time, but Money and Credit is an exception. Written in an engaging and easy style, and full of interesting and important information on money and credit from early history to the current financial crisis, this important book will appeal to a wide audience. It is also likely to become the standard work in the sociology of money and credit."Richard Swedberg, Cornell University

• Acknowledgments. Chapter 1: Introduction.Chapter 2: A Brief History of Money.Chapter 3: The Social Meaning of Money.Chapter 4: Credit and the Modern Consumer Society.Chapter 5: Credit and the Modern Corporate Economy.Chapter 6: Conclusion.Bibliography.