Pragmatic Socio-economics: A Way Forward?

ABSTRACT This commentary examines the concept of “pragmatic socio-economics” and argues that it is unlikely to offer a major breakthrough in the search for a holistic approach to the study of housing. Although the authors outline the serious barriers to the integration of sociological insights into neo-classical economics, they seek to avoid these through the adoption of concepts, such as that of social norms, that could be acceptable to economists. The result does not challenge some of the fundamental assumptions of neo-classical economics that need to be amended if meaningful integration with sociology is to be achieved.