Why do some efforts to implement social change succeed while others fail? Yoshimichi Sato observes in this book that existing theories focus on social action at either the micro- or the macro-level, but are unable to explain the multi-level transitions. Sato argues that efforts to effect social change at the macro-level stimulate responses at the micro-level, and it is the accumulation of these micro-level social actions that determines the macro- level social outcomes. Turning to game theory to analyze these multi-level transitions, Sato concludes that intentional social change is successful when the change agents anticipate and control the range of responses of micro-level social actors such that the responses to the change agent's endeavors accumulate towards the desired outcome.

About Editors and Authors

SATO Yoshimichi is a Japanese sociologist and Professor in the Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University. He specializes in sociology, behavioral science and mathematical sociology. After completing a PhD at the Graduate School of Sociology, University of Tokyo, he served as Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Commerce, Yokohama City University, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University, and Visiting Scholar in the Faculty of Sociology, University of Chicago, and at Cornell University. His research interests include social hierarchy, social stratification and mechanisms that generate inequality.