Economic Sociology of Illegal Markets

Abstract

Illegal markets are a daily experience. The consumption of counterfeits, drugs, illegally downloaded software or items such as stolen bicycles and mobile phones are not rare and there seem to be people or criminal organizations always ready to deliver these goods. This course is focused on illegal behavior, especially in markets, from a sociological perspective. The course invites a joint reflection and discussion on the phenomenon of illegality in society as well as on the social organization of illegal markets and their political, legal and cultural embeddedness. Special attention is paid to the interfaces between legality and illegality and to a differentiated view of illegal economies. During the course, students will acquire sociological knowledge about how illegal markets are organized; the demand for illegal goods and services; notions of legality and social legitimacy; organized crime and mafias; the role of the state in illegal economies; and general knowledge about five illegal markets: organs, stolen online data, counterfeit clothing, drugs and illegal logging. Students do not require any special previous knowledge, but must be prepared for intensive reading of English‑language texts.

 

Leistungserbringung

Die volle ECTS Punktzahl wird neben der aktiven Teilnahme und Lektüre aller Texte durch zwei Leistungen erzielt. Der Lehrende informiert in der ersten Sitzung über die zu erbringenden Leistungen.

Referenzen:

Frank Wehinger, Illegale Märkte: Stand der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung, MPIfG Working Paper 11/6

Jens Beckert und Matías Dewey, The Architecture of Illegal Markets. Toward an Economic Sociology of Illegality in the Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Einführung.

Jens Beckert und Frank Wehinger, In the shadow: illegal markets and economic sociology, Socio-Economic Review (2013) 11, 5–30.

Mayntz, Renate. “Illegal Markets: Boundaries and Interfaces between Legality and Illegality.” In: The Architecture of Illegal Markets: Toward an Economic Sociology of Illegality in the Economy, edited by Jens Beckert and Matías Dewey. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2017.