What Are Markets For?

“A 360° tour of markets, like a filmmaker roaming economies with a camera – simple yet deep, detailed without ever losing perspective. A must-read.” Koray Caliskan, The New School

“A compelling, lucid rethinking of markets as political, moral, and material arrangements shaping who prospers and who does not. A must-read for all those interested in understanding how our economy works.” Katy Mason, University of Salford

“Politically engaged and engagingly written, this book equips social scientists with the necessary tools for investigating and tinkering with markets.” Paul Langley, Durham University

“A compelling, lucid rethinking of markets as political, moral, and material arrangements shaping who prospers and who does not. A must-read for all those interested in understanding how our economy works.” Katy Mason, University of Salford

“What Are Markets For? is a deceptively simple question that starts to unravel as soon as you pull at the strings that make markets and hold them together. This is what Philip Roscoe does in this lively and compelling book.” Bill Maurer, University of California, Irvine

“This book accomplishes an almost impossible feat: sketching the contours of an extremely complex entity – the market – in a highly accessible and entertaining manner.” Susi Geiger, University College Dublin

Philip Roscoe is Professor in Management at the University of St Andrews. His research takes a sociological approach to markets and finance. A former journalist, he was one of the first BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Thinkers. His previous book, How to Build a Stock Exchange, was published in 2023.