Globalization and Transformations of Local Socio-economic Practices (Routledge Advances in Sociology)

This innovative volume provides a comprehensive overview of the transformation of socio-economic practices in the global economy. The contributors offer analytical and comparative insights at the world level, with regard to the current socio-economic practices as well as an assessment of the overall economic globalization phenomenon in the global world. Through empirical case studies of different civilizations or cultures that describe situations of intertwining of local socio-economic practices and global economic modernity, this volume assesses the overall situation in the world, looking at the world as an economic system where some countries act as winners, others as losers and some as both winners and losers of economic globalization. This exceptional book will appeal to sociologists, social and cultural anthropologists, and economists interested in development. Development Studies Book Cover 1 Title 6 Copyright 7 Contents 8 Preface 10 1 Transformations of Local Socioeconomic Practices in a Global World: A Theoretical Approach and Some Empirical Evidence From Different World Regions 12 2 Contradictions of Social Responsibility—(German) Business Elites and Globalization 31 3 Negotiating Neo-Liberalism: Free-Market Reform in Central and Eastern Europe 57 4 Mobilizing International Auditing Standards in Arenas of Political and Economic Change in Post- Soviet Russia 86 5 China’s Response to Globalization: Manufacturing Confucian Values 110 6 The Export of Cultural Commodities as Impression Management: The Case of Thailand 131 7 Informal and Formal Economy in Caracas: Street Vending and Globalization 149 8 Common Roots, Shared Traits, Joint Prospects? On the Articulation of Multiple Modernities in Benin and Haiti 162 9 Rethinking “Free-Trade” Practices in Contemporary Togo: Women Entrepreneurs in the Global Textile Trade 185 10 Outcomes and Perspectives 203 Notes on Contributors 220 Index 224 Edited By Ulrike Schuerkens. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.