Jens Beckert
Sociology
Jens Beckert
Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG)Jens Beckert's primary research interest is in the sociology of markets. He combines approaches from economics and sociology, with particular attention to the insights emerging from the new economic sociology. Using a theoretical framework that is both action-oriented and institution-oriented, he focuses on the social, institutional, and cultural embeddedness of the economy. With his research group on markets at the MPIfG, Beckert looks at a wide spectrum of markets, and, particularly, expectations of the future in decision-making in the economy. His research aims at a sociological theory of economic action and capitalist dynamics.
A newly expanded research area is the investigation of long-lasting wealth inequality. In upcoming years, wealth inequality and especially the intergenerational transmission of wealth in the family as well as the mechanisms of maintaining lasting wealth inequality will become a main focus of work in the research cluster.
This year, dissertation proposals relating to questions of long-term wealth perpetuation and the role of property-owning families in contemporary capitalism are especially welcome.
Research Fields:
- Economic sociology
- Inheritance and wealth distribution