The Norms, Beliefs, and Institutions of 21st-Century Capitalism: Celebrating Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Conference
October 8-9, 2004; Statler Hotel Amphitheater

Conference organized by Victor Nee and Richard Swedberg of the Center for the Study of Economy and Society with funding from the John Templeton Foundation
The Fall of 2004 marks the 100th anniversary of Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. While sociologists and economists have examined the general workings of markets and the roles that political and social institutions play in capitalism, less attention has been paid to the values that are crucial to a modern, vigorous, and healthy capitalism. This conference will, in part, highlight a central question raised by Weber's work - the relationship between values, economic institutions, and performance - critical to understanding the institutional framework and the motivation for economic gain that gave rise to capitalism. (Photos by Paul Lee, Cornell University)

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Working Group
Dynamic conversation at the December 5, 2002 meeting of the "Social Networks, Collective Action, and Economy" Working Group, which presented David Strang (Professor of Sociology, Cornell) on "The Diffusion of TQM in a Global Bank." (Photos by Robert Barker, Cornell University Photography)

Comparing China and India's Economic Miracle Symposium
Symposium co-organizers Kaushik Basu and Victor Nee (Cornell) brought together guest speakers Montek Ahluwalia of the International Monetary Fund, Sonja Opper of Tuebingen University, Germany, Debin Ma of the Foundation for Advanced Studies in International Development, Tokyo, Japan, and Vivek Chibber of New York University on January 30th, 2004 to examine the relationships between state-crafted institutional innovation, globalization, and economic performance from the perspective of comparative institutional analysis in economics and sociology. (Photo by Doug Savitsky, Cornell University)

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Brian Uzzi
Guest lecturer Brian Uzzi (Kellogg School of Management and Department of Sociology, Northwestern University) keeping his audience intrigued about "How Small Worlds Make Big Differences: The Case of the Broadway Musical Industry," December 4, 2002.

Messenger Lecture Series
Francis Fukuyama lecturing on "The State After September 11" for the Messenger Lecture Series on February 18, 20, and 21, a university-wide event co-sponsored by CSES for 2003.

CSES Inaugural Symposium
CSES Inaugural Symposium on February 19, 2003, featuring presentations by Francis Fukuyama (Johns Hopkins University), Neil Smelser (University of California at Berkeley), Richard Swedberg (Cornell), and other members of the Cornell faculty and administration about the status and future of economic sociology.

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Great debate, crowds, and use of audiovisual aids (!) at the April 4-5, 2003 conference on "Institutional Change in East Asia," which, among others, featured presentations by Gary Hamilton (University of Washington), Lisa Keister (Ohio State University), AnnaLee Saxenian (University of California at Berkeley), and Ronald Dore (London School of Economics).