Viviana A Zelizer

It’s important to understand social aspects of economic behaviour, particularly when times of crisis reveal the shortcomings of traditional economic theory, says sociologist Neil Fligstein.

We all know how children should be brought up, and rarely question the cultural norms that underly that certainty. But what does that mean for the policies we try to impose on the developing world? Jo Boyden, professor of international development at Oxford University and director of its Young Lives study, picks books that question our assumptions about how to successfully raise a child.