Durkheim and Economic Sociology

Abstract

Durkheim’s doctoral dissertation on the division of labor had an economic dimension, and his study on suicide rates put a strong emphasis on the professional group for the social reform he had in mind. Durkheim never entered into the technicalities of economic theory proper and limited himself to issues related to economic policy and economic reform, before he moved to study religious issues. Durkheim produced not only a personal work but also a collective one around L’Année sociologique. So, beyond Durkheim’s own achievement, this chapter considers the work of François Simiand and Maurice Halbwachs, who were at the head of the “economic sociology” section of L’Année sociologique, and Marcel Mauss for his work on gift-giving. Finally, the strength of the Durkheimian approach to economic sociology is illustrated through some contemporary inquiries.