FINANCIALMARKETS, MONEY, AND BANKING
Lisa A. Keister
Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1353;
e-mail:
Keister.7@osu.edu
Key Words banks, economic sociology, interlocking directorates, economic
transition, inequality
n Abstract The study of financial markets, money, and banking is largely considered
the purview of economics. Yet sociologists have contributed greatly to understanding
financial relations since the early history of the discipline. This review begins
with an overview of classical sociological approaches to financial markets, money, and
banking and then describes how research in these areas exploded in recent decades.
I describe the current state of research on money, relations among firms and banks, and
interlocking directorates. I consider the ways financial relations shape firm behaviors
and processes, and I describe the growing body of work that treats financial markets as
outcomes. I discuss research on the transformation of financial systems during transition
from state socialism, and I conclude with a discussion of a growing literature that
combines studies of financial markets and social stratification.