Markets are such an important way in which humans interact that I'm always cheered to note that economists aren't alone in studying them. (And studying them is different from simply appreciating them...:). Here's an interdisciplinary conference just finishing up that doesn't seem to involve many economists at all.
the program is here:
8th Interdisciplinary Market Studies Workshop (IMSW), June 16 – June 18, 2025, Stockholm School of Economics
And here's the very interesting call for papers, which I've quoted below the link:
The 8th Interdisciplinary Market Studies Workshop
Theme: Nordic Noir – Exploring the Dark Sides of Markets
"Since its first meeting in Sigtuna in 2010, IMSW has gathered scholars interested in the creation and operation of markets. At the heart of the workshop are empirical accounts of mundane market practices as well as market formation and change processes. Over the years, discussions at IMSW have highlighted the variability of market arrangements and outcomes, paid close attention to the metrologies and evaluative practices linked to markets, scrutinized the power in and of markets, and engaged in speculations on the possibility of better markets. While the ethos of the workshop has always been to question the benevolence and neutrality of markets, we believe that as IMSW now returns to Stockholm, the time is ripe for something a bit different. We therefore call for an even more explicit focus on the negative externalities, excesses, and ethical impotency of markets. As befits the return of IMSW to the land of Nordic noir, we invite contributions that explore the dark sides of markets.
Perhaps more than ever before, markets provoke concern. The climate crisis is intimately connected with the current economic system – and many find it easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. The growing influence of financial markets leads to the hegemony of narrow forms of valuation and the severing of many human ties. Marketized technologies pose threats to democracy through their production of both ignorance and further polarization. Digital market infrastructures work as mechanisms of surveillance but also facilitate the formation and operation of markets beyond the reach of regulatory interventions. The marketization of areas such as education and healthcare contributes to problems of unequal access, and bureaucratization makes structures inflexible to change or improvement. These and other similar developments certainly warrant the attention of the market studies community.
As IMSW turns 15, we propose, in the spirit of the gloomiest, moodiest instincts of adolescence, a side-step from constructivist market studies to "destructivist" market studies. This challenge involves new markets to study, new verbs to master, and new questions to ask. Instead of the very respectable markets usually studied by market studies scholars, we encourage the exploration of taboo markets, illegal markets, and repugnant markets. In addition to studies of imagining, designing, and maintaining markets, we would like to see inquiries into destroying, deceiving, threatening, and scheming in markets. We look forward to submissions addressing questions such as: What role do markets play in the current rather destructive time capsule? How are affects such as hate, fear, loathing, and shame provoked and used in markets? What effects do markets have when they create insiders and outsiders? How do market epistemologies help actors mobilize obscurity and opacity in society?
Markets have been lauded as mechanisms for optimal resource allocation and denounced as structures of oppression. Beyond this polemic debate, the workshop’s historical rooting in STS and ANT serves as a reminder to look beyond contestations and trace the practices (and not only the ideologies) that (in)form them. In short, the field of interdisciplinary market studies has responded by assuming a position where both “Le bon Dieu” and “The Devil” are to be found in the details. In this vein, we look forward to a workshop full of constructive discussions. While finding solutions to the problems identified may not always be within our reach, a sound introspection, reflection, and mapping of the values we guard definitely is.
Submission topics
We particularly invite submissions that address or are related to any of the following topics, though we are open to other relevant areas of work:
The Externalities of Markets:
In line with the established approach of studying market framing, we invite submissions that explore the production of negative externalities and unexpected consequences of markets. This includes studies of markets for exchange objects with negative effects (i.e.,‘bads’ for sale instead of ‘goods’), human and non-human suffering caused by markets, as well as attempts to make visible and address negative externalities.
The Excesses of Markets:
Contemporary markets are characterized by excesses such as overconsumption, waste, and luxury indulgence. We invite submissions that explore the processes and practices giving rise to and making visible these and other excesses. This includes studying the setting of standards and norms related to sufficiency and excess, whether in relation to economic growth or consumer lifestyles.
The “Otherness” of Markets:
In contemporary market society, having access to markets can have decisive impact. For markets to operate, frames and/or boundaries need to be established, but boundaries (by default) also create insiders and outsiders. The “Otherness” of markets invites explorations of the effects of boundaries, focusing on the consequences of being an “outsider” with identifiable topics such as poverty, gender discrimination, and inequality.
The Ignorance of Markets:
Recent decades have seen increased trust in and skepticism towards knowledge produced in and around markets. Sophisticated tools improve forecasting and knowledge sharing, yet as recent failures of prediction have shown (financial crisis, Covid-pandemic, US election 2016) their conclusions can be arbitrary, biased, and ideologically motivated. We invite submissions that explore the production of ignorance and “non-knowledge” in markets as well as their hidden, discreet, and invisible dimensions.
The Repugnance of Markets:
We invite submissions exploring themes of moral outrage, taboo, and disgust in and around markets. This includes the study of illegal and/or illicit markets, but also of variations in the legal and moral categorization of market phenomena across national, (sub)cultural, and temporal settings.
The Repair of Markets:
The dark sides of markets give rise not only to despair but also to various efforts at repair. The heterogeneity and pliability of markets remain central tenets in market studies and can be usefully applied also to situations of concern and discontent. We therefore invite contributions that explore the work of proposing alternative market arrangements and/or alternatives to markets, creating better markets, and caring for markets. "
HT: Koray Caliskan
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