Economia e sociologia: i fondamenti comuni

Economics and Sociology: The Common Foundations of the Two Disciplines

Abstract disponibile solo in lingua inglese

Over the last thirty years, economists have dealt with problems that were previously the province of other social sciences, among which sociology. In the latter the economic approach is generally refuted. In this essay, following a description of the economic model of behaviour underlying the economic approach, analysis is made of two arguments which sociologists often use to justify their refutation of this approach: 1) the economic approach is unable to explain the formation and the effects of social structures inasmuch as it considers only the behaviour of individual actors; 2) the economic model is false because it ignores the effect of social rules and roles, which in sociology, on the other hand, have an important function. It is demonstrated that neither argument is valid. In conclusion, the author discusses possibilities of integration between economics and sociology.