Institutions and Social Structures¹

Abstract

We recommend you cite the published version. The publisher's URL is http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j. 1468?5914.2008.00370.x Refereed: No (no note) Disclaimer UWE has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material. UWE makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited.UWE makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights. UWE accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR TEXT. JTSB June 2008 Institutions and Social Structures 1 Steve FleetwoodAbstract. This paper clarifies the terms "institutions" and "social structures" and related terms "rules", "conventions", "norms", "values" and "customs". Part one explores the similarities between institutions and social structures whilst the second and third parts explore differences. Part two considers institutions, rules, habits or habitus and habituation, whilst part three critically reflects on three common conceptions of social structures. The conclusion comments upon reflexive deliberation via the internal conversation. IntroductionWhilst the terms "institutions" and "social structures" 2 feature extensively in many social scientific disciplines, there is more than a little ambiguity about what each term means and how they relate to one another. 3 Although a degree of clarity is sometimes gained from the context, this is not always so. In any case, the alternative is not to simply abandon attempts at clarification and definition, but to proceed with working definitions that others might build upon. Let us consider some of the ambiguities I have in mind.Perhaps the most common way of (mis)treating the relationship between institutions and social structures is to use them interchangeably. This may be done without thinking, or it may be rooted in the common idea that institutions are kinds of social structures. For Hodgson (2006a: 2, passim):"Institutions are the kind of structures that matter most in the social realm: they make up the stuff of social life". For Wells 1970: 3) "Social institutions form an element in a more general concept known as social structure". Risman (2004: 431) simply "prefers" to define gender as a social structure rather than defining "gender as an institution", but she sees the difference as largely linguistic.Another common approach to institutions and social structures, noted by Jessop and Nielsen (2003: 1), is to (mis)treat them as patterned social practices, in particular regularities in the flux of events. This confuses the conditions that make action possible with the action itself. This is remarkable given that Giddens"s (1979Gidden...

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From Labour Market Institutions to an Alternative Model of Labour Markets

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