Research at the MPIfG
Research at the MPIfG focuses on the interrelationships between the economy, politics, and society. The aim is to identify economic dynamics and social developments as a whole. The focus is on capitalism as a historically determined sociopolitical order. Particular attention is paid to its instability, but also to the manifold challenges that capitalist instability poses for society and democratic politics.
The Institute emphasizes the close integration between economic sociology and political economy. While political economy primarily seeks to explain macro-level phenomena, economic sociology has a distinct strength in its attention to the micro-level of social interactions in the economy. This also implies exploring the question of preference formation and examining the role of expectations in their social contexts. The study of institutions and their transformation is of particular importance for research at the MPIfG. The interweaving of economic sociology and political economy requires an understanding of the interactions of actors as embedded in social, cultural, and political fields.
