ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces and maps out an economic sociology of law (ESL) lens. As a frame of mind rather than a fixed methodology, an ESL lens can take myriad forms. Sitting between socio-legal scholarship and economic sociology, it responds to realist movements and, explored in the context of economic development, demands empirically grounded, theoretically informed, and methodologically rigorous enquiry, suggesting a sociological understanding of the economic life of the law. We can identify several taxonomies that might aid researchers interested in the relationships between law, economy, and society, and some are outlined here. Then, a combined lens that offers one interpretation of ESL as a pseudo-constructivist approach is proposed. Our personas, Academic Ann and Policy Polly, continue to explore what an ESL lens might mean for upcoming research into foreign investment and the legal system and also for policy drafting respectively, illustrating two potential empirical applications of ESL-informed approaches.
