Uncertain Futures: Imaginaries, Narratives, and Calculation in the Economy was published by Oxford University Press in August 2018 (hardback) and September 2019 (paperback). The introductory chapter is by the editors, Jens Beckert and Richard Bronk, but the rest of the volume includes contributions from thirteen authors - including Robert Boyer, David Tuckett, Jenny Andersson, Andrew G. Haldane, Douglas R. Holmes, and Elena Esposito.
Uncertain Futures considers how economic actors visualize the future and decide how to act in conditions of radical uncertainty. It starts from the premise that, since dynamic capitalist economies are characterized by relentless innovation and novelty, they exhibit an indeterminacy that cannot be reduced to measurable risk. The organizing question then becomes how economic actors form expectations and make decisions despite the uncertainty they face.
The edited volume lays the foundations for a new model of economic reasoning by showing how, in conditions of uncertainty, economic actors combine calculation with imaginaries and narratives to form 'fictional' expectations that coordinate action and provide the confidence to act. It draws on groundbreaking research in economic sociology, economics, anthropology, and psychology to present theoretically grounded empirical case studies.
These demonstrate how grand narratives, central bank forward guidance, economic forecasts, finance models, business plans, visions of technological futures, and new era stories influence behaviour and become instruments of power in markets and societies. The market impact of shared calculative devices, social narratives, and contingent imaginaries underlines the rationale for a new form of narrative economics.
For reviews and advance praise of Uncertain Futures, click here