Auctions: The Social Construction of Value

by Charles W. Smith

Book Overview

Long the preferred method of exchange for antiques and horseflesh, auctions are used today to sell everything from bestselling books to real estate, government bonds to abandoned automobiles. As sociologist Charles Smith reveals, the mechanical law of supply and demand rarely governs the auction process. Rather value is determined by a complex social process combining both the beliefs and actions of the auction participants and the assumptions and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520072014
• ISBN13: 9780520072015
• Release Date: August 1990
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"