Cultural Wealth of Nations

Nina Bandelj is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. Frederick F. Wherry is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan.

"Taken as a whole this volume offers a useful perspective on modes of production of cultural capital . . . The book stimulates awareness of inequalities in the power and capacity to turn cultural values, meanings, and narratives to economic profit . . . This is a book that should be required reading for graduate students doing research in heritage management, tourism, and economic development. The theoretical perspective it offers on the inseparability of cultural and economic life will be helpful for any advanced student of sociology, anthropology, or economics."—Judith Adler, Contemporary Sociology "In The Cultural Wealth of Nations, Nina Bandelj and Frederick F. Wherry, two brilliant stars in the field of cultural economic sociology, make a pioneering intervention in a crucial topic. With engaging essays from an impressive roster of scholars, the book offers a transformative argument about the crucial significance of shared symbolic resources in shaping national economic development."—Viviana A. Zelizer, Princeton University, author of Economic Lives: How Culture Shapes the Economy "This breakout volume pushes the precarious balance of economic sociology decisively to the cultural side. The 'cultural wealth of nations' is a phrase that reconstructs Adam Smith and deserves to enter deeply into the lexicon of sociology."—Jeffrey C. Alexander, Yale University "Ranging from Dogon fetishes and South African wines to the hillsides of Tuscany, el Mundo Maya, and the World Heritage Fund, these provocative essays provide a wealth of insight into how nations struggle—sometimes successfully—to capitalize on their heritage, stocks of cultural products, and narratives about place, history, and nature in order to make markets and foster economic development. Bravo!"—Marc Schneiberg, Reed and CUNY-Queens Colleges