Institutional economics and the formation of preferences : the advent of pop music

Preferences for specific goods, and symbolic goods in particular, are mediated through the institutional settings that both individuals and groups find themselves in. Development of a social value nexus, which indicates how institutions relate to the socio-cultural values of a society. The sudden and radical change in consumption patterns for music in the late 1950s and 1960s provides convincing evidence of the author's claim. Review by S.Frith in: Journal of cultural economics.30(2006)1(.85-89).