Material Markets

• Donald MacKenzie's latest book in the social study of finance provides a concise introduction to his pioneering work in the area
• This timely book helps make sense of some of the underlying causes of the turbulence in financial markets, such as the 'credit crunch'
• A social study of financial markets, the book explores how 'real people', not disembodied homines economici, influence market fortunes
• Draws on rare research access to a hedge fund
• Includes a study of the establishment of international carbon emissions markets

Readership: Academics, researchers, and students across the social sciences interested in social studies of finance; Readers interested in understanding today's turbulent markets.

Donald MacKenzie, Professor of Sociology (Personal Chair), University of Edinburgh

1: Introduction
2: Ten Precepts for the Social Studies of Finance
3: Assembling an Economic Actor
4: Derivatives: The Production of Virtuality
5: The Material Sociology of Arbitrage
6: Measuring Profit
7: Constructing Emissions Markets
8: Conclusion: Opening the Black Boxes of Finance