Do instruments such as performance indicators, valuation formulas, consumer tests, stock prices or financial contracts represent an external reality? Or do they rather constitute, in a performative fashion, what they refer to? The Provoked Economy tackles this question from a pragmatist angle, considering economic reality as a ceaselessly provoked reality. It takes the reader through a series of diverse empirical sites - from public administrations to stock exchanges, from investment banks to marketing facilities and business schools - in order to explore what can be seen from such a demanding standpoint.

Fabian Muniesa is a researcher at the Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation, École des Mines de Paris. He looks at calculation, valuation and organization from a pragmatist standpoint, with a focus on the problems of business pedagogy, managerial performance, financial innovation and economic reasoning.

Introduction. Part I: The Problem of Performativity 1. A Few Theoretical Rudiments 2. The Consideration of Economic Reality Part II: Elementary Case Studies 3. Recounting Financial Objects 4. Discovering Stock Prices 5. Testing Consumer Preferences 6. Realizing Business Value 7. Indicating Economic Action. Tentative Conclusion. Bibliography