Adonis Diaries

Market theories: jobs, politics, and State interventions; (Jan. 11, 2010)

This article explains four socio-economic theories of market. The job market is best served by occasional acquaintances from ex-colleagues or what Mark Granovater expounded on in his 1973 book “The force of weak links”. Over 55% of job seekers found rewarding openings not from close relatives, job announcements, or traditional mediums. It turns out that occasional acquaintances have the best insider information that are non redundant and are inaccessible to normal job seekers.

Market can be a set of niches. Harrison White said in 1981 in his book “Where do markets come from?” that prices or how market functions is determined by the producers. Producers of products and services are constantly observing and investigating their “niche competitors”.  They analyze the volume and sales revenues of competitors and then re-structure accordingly.  The highest the volume combined with customer satisfaction the trendiest is the product.  Thus, market conditions tend to be replicated unchanged because the producers are using the same database of niche competitors.

Market can be seen as fields of microcosm among dominant enterprises that sub-contract to niche enterprises.  Thus, there are standardization among products and services with minor touches of esthetics and quality differentiations: it depends on the sub-contractors specialty. States play the predominant roles in market development relative to laws that regulate demands and offers for products that need financial credits. (Pierre Bourdieu in “The social structures of economy”, 2000)

Market can be explained in political construct terms. Neil Flingstein (2001) in “The architectures of markets” stated that stable markets rely on rules of conduct to function.  Four rules are necessary: One, rights for property, including intellectual rights; two, governance structure such as rules of competitions and cooperation among firms (horizontal and vertical expansion); three exchange rules and their conditions among enterprises; and four, control concepts such as strategies of world economic outlook, structural organization, and market structures that permit limiting competitions).

The State central power is the main source toward which all major enterprises look upon to arbitrate competitive struggles, alliances, and actors (workers, employees, capitals, and means of production). Customers are becoming more attuned to quality and more dedicated to do their due diligence for expensive products and services. Enterprises that are well equipped with specialized magazines, internet exposure, and guide books are better positioned to attracting the ever increasing “calculating” clients.