RATIONALITY AND CHOICES IN ECONOMICS: BEHAVIORAL AND EVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES
Abstract
The paper critically discusses the issue of rationality and choices in economics in both the behavioural and evolutionary approaches. Our study aims, on the one hand, to highlight the scientific contributions of psychology in economics, since psychology, and with it the theoretical approach of the behavioral economics, has made more complex and problematic the analysis of economic choices, showing the limits of rationality. On the other hand, the work offers a reinterpretation of the theory of Alfred Marshall in a biological-evolutionary perspective. The reinterpretation of Marshall's theory in a evolutionary perspective aims to show that, historically, economics has not been a discipline aligned in a homogenous way to a single and undifferentiated thought, locked into the idea of perfect rationality, but, on the opposite, is a discipline that has enriched itself and continually is enriching by contributions and significant contaminations with other research fields.
References
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[17] Kahneman, D., Thaler, R.H. 2006. Anomalies: utility maximization and experienced utility, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20 (1), pp. 221 - 234.
[18] Kahneman, D., Tversky, A. 1979. Prospect theory. An analysis of decision under risk, Econometrica, 47 (2), pp. 263 - 292.
[19] Kahneman, D., Tversky, A. 1984. Choices, values and frames, American Psychologist, 39, pp. 341 - 350.
[20] Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J. L., Thaler R. H. 1990. Experimental tests oft he endowment effect and the Coase theorem, Journal of Political Economy, 98 (6), pp. 1325 - 1348.
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[32] Montague, R. 2008. Perchè l'hai fatto? Come prendiamo le nostre decisioni, Milano, Raffello Cortina.
[33] Motterlini, M., Guala, F., Eds. 2005. Economia cognitiva e sperimentale, Milano, Egea.
[34] Novarese, M., Castellani, M., Di Giovinazzo, V. 2009. Procedural rationality and happiness, MPRA Paper, n.18290, October.
[35] Pievani, T. 2005. Introduzione alla filosofia della biologia, Bari, Laterza.
[36] Rabin, M. 1998. Psychology and economics, Journal of Economic Literature, 36 (1), pp. 11- 46.
[37] Robbins, L.C. 1932. 1935 (2nd edition). An essay on the nature and significance of economic science, London, Macmillan.
[38] Samuelson, P. 1937. A note on measurement of utility, Review of Economic Studies, 4, pp. 155 – 161.
[39] Schilirò, D. 2011. Decisioni e razionalità in economia, MPRA Paper n.29477. March.
[40] Schumpeter, J. A. 1954. History of economic analysis, New York, Oxford University Press.
[41] Shane, F., Loewnstein, G., O'Donoghue, T. 2002. Time discounting and time preference. A critical review, Journal of Economic Literature, XL (2), pp. 351 - 401.
[42] Shiller, R.J. 2005. Behavioral economics and instituional innovation, Cowles Foundation Discussion Paper no. 1499.
[43] Simon, H. A. 1955. A behavioral model of rational choice, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 69 (1), pp. 99 -118.
[44] Simon, H. A. 1956. Rational choice and the structure of the environment, Psychological Review, 63 (2), March, pp. 129 - 138.
[45] Simon, H. A. 1978. Rational decision-making in business organizations. Nobel Memorial Lecture, 8 December 1978, Economic Sciences, pp. 343-371.
[46] Simon, H. A. 1987. Rationality in psychology and economics, in Rational choice, R.M. Hogarth, Reder, R.W., eds., Chicago, University of Chicago Press, pp. 25 - 40.
[47] Simon, H. A. 2000. Bounded rationality in social science: today and tomorrow. Mind & Society, 1, pp. 25 - 39.
[48] Smith, V. L. 1982. Microeconomic system as an experimental science, American Economic Review, 72, pp. 923 - 955.
[49] Smith, V. L. 2000. Bargaining and market behavior: essays in experimental economics, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
[50] Strotz, R. H. 1955-1956. Myopia and inconsistency in dynamic utility maximization. Review of Economic Studies, 23 (3), pp. 165 - 180.
[51] Thaler, R. H. 1980. Towards a positive theory of consumer choice. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 1, pp. 39-60.
[52] Thaler, R. H. 1981. Some Empirical Evidence on Dynamic Inconsistency," Economic Letters, 8, pp. 201-207.
[53] Tversky, A., Kahneman, D. 1974. Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases, Science, 185, pp. 1124-31, September.
[54] Tversky, A., Kahneman D. 1986. Rational choice and the framing of decisions, Journal of Business, 59 (4) Part 2, pp. S251-S278.
[2] Akerlof, G. A. 1991. Procrastination and obedience, American Economic Review, 81(2), pp. 1-19.
[3] Allais, M. 1953. Le comportement de l’homme rationnel devant le risque: critique des postulats et axiomes de l’école américaine, Econometrica, 21, pp. 503-546.
[4] Arrow, K. J. 1971. Essay in the theory of risk-bearing, Amsterdam, North Holland Pub. Co.
[5] Bergson, H. 1996. L’évolution créatrice, Paris, PUF.
[6] Bruner, J. S., Potter, M.C. 1964. Interference in visual recognition, Science, 144, pp. 424-425, April.
[7] Cournot, A. 1838. Recherches sur les principes mathematiques de la theorie des richesses, Paris, L.Hachette.
[8] Cyert, R. M., Simon, H. A., Trow, D.B. 1956. Observation of a business decision, Journal of Business, 29 (4): 237-48.
[9] Darwin, C. 1967. L'origine della specie, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri.
[10] Dobzhansky, T. 1973. Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. In The American Biology Teacher, 35, pp. 125-129.
[11] Ellsberg, D. 1961. Risk, ambiguity, and the Savage axioms, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 75 (4), pp. 643–669.
[12] Friedman, M., Savage, L. 1948. Utility analysis of choices involving risk, Journal of Political Economy, 56 (4), pp. 279-304.
[13] Gilovich, T., Vallone, R., Tversky, A. 1985. The hot hand in basketball: on the misperception of random sequences, Cognitive Psychology, 17 (3), pp. 295 - 314, July.
[14] Hogdson, T. 1993. Economics and evolution, bringing life back into economics, Cambridge, Polity Press.
[15] Jacob, F. 1980. La logique du vivant, une histoire de l’hérédité, Paris, Gallimard.
[16] Kahneman, D. 2002. Maps of bounded rationality: a perspective on intuitive judgment and choice, Nobel Lecture, Princeton.
[17] Kahneman, D., Thaler, R.H. 2006. Anomalies: utility maximization and experienced utility, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20 (1), pp. 221 - 234.
[18] Kahneman, D., Tversky, A. 1979. Prospect theory. An analysis of decision under risk, Econometrica, 47 (2), pp. 263 - 292.
[19] Kahneman, D., Tversky, A. 1984. Choices, values and frames, American Psychologist, 39, pp. 341 - 350.
[20] Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J. L., Thaler R. H. 1990. Experimental tests oft he endowment effect and the Coase theorem, Journal of Political Economy, 98 (6), pp. 1325 - 1348.
[21] Keynes, J. M. 1924. Alfred Marshall, 1842-1924, Economic Journal, 34, pp. 311- 372, September.
[22] Keren, G. 1987. Facing uncertainty in the game of bridge: a calibration study, Organizational behaviour and human decision processes, 39 (1), pp. 98-114, February.
[23] Laibson, D. 1997. Golden eggs and hyperbolic discounting, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(2), pp. 443 - 477.
[24] Marshall, A. 1919. Industry and Trade, London, Macmillan & Co.
[25] Marshall, A. 1961, 1890 (1st edition). Principles of Economics, London, Macmillan.
[26] Marshall, A. 1991. Analogies mécaniques et biologiques en économie (1898), Revue Française d’Economie, 6 (1), pp. 103-113.
[27] Mathiot, J. 1998. Evolution, sélection, information. La question de la convergence, Philosophiques, Département de philosophie de l’UQAM.
[28] Mayr E. 1982. Storia del pensiero biologico. Diversità, evoluzione, eredità. Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, in Italian
[29] Mazur, J. E. 1987. An adjusting procedure for studying delayed reinforcement. In Quantitative analyses of behavior: V. The effect of delay and of intervening events on reinforcement value.
[29] M. L. Commons, J. E. Mazur, J. A. Nevin and H. Rachlin, eds., Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 55 – 73.
[30] Mazur, J. E. 1988. Estimation of indifference points with an adjusting delay procedure. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 49 (1), pp. 37– 47.
[31] Ménard, C.L. 1979. Equilibre, déséquilibre, temps : un peu d’histoire, Economie Appliquée, 32 (2-3), pp. 229 - 251.
[32] Montague, R. 2008. Perchè l'hai fatto? Come prendiamo le nostre decisioni, Milano, Raffello Cortina.
[33] Motterlini, M., Guala, F., Eds. 2005. Economia cognitiva e sperimentale, Milano, Egea.
[34] Novarese, M., Castellani, M., Di Giovinazzo, V. 2009. Procedural rationality and happiness, MPRA Paper, n.18290, October.
[35] Pievani, T. 2005. Introduzione alla filosofia della biologia, Bari, Laterza.
[36] Rabin, M. 1998. Psychology and economics, Journal of Economic Literature, 36 (1), pp. 11- 46.
[37] Robbins, L.C. 1932. 1935 (2nd edition). An essay on the nature and significance of economic science, London, Macmillan.
[38] Samuelson, P. 1937. A note on measurement of utility, Review of Economic Studies, 4, pp. 155 – 161.
[39] Schilirò, D. 2011. Decisioni e razionalità in economia, MPRA Paper n.29477. March.
[40] Schumpeter, J. A. 1954. History of economic analysis, New York, Oxford University Press.
[41] Shane, F., Loewnstein, G., O'Donoghue, T. 2002. Time discounting and time preference. A critical review, Journal of Economic Literature, XL (2), pp. 351 - 401.
[42] Shiller, R.J. 2005. Behavioral economics and instituional innovation, Cowles Foundation Discussion Paper no. 1499.
[43] Simon, H. A. 1955. A behavioral model of rational choice, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 69 (1), pp. 99 -118.
[44] Simon, H. A. 1956. Rational choice and the structure of the environment, Psychological Review, 63 (2), March, pp. 129 - 138.
[45] Simon, H. A. 1978. Rational decision-making in business organizations. Nobel Memorial Lecture, 8 December 1978, Economic Sciences, pp. 343-371.
[46] Simon, H. A. 1987. Rationality in psychology and economics, in Rational choice, R.M. Hogarth, Reder, R.W., eds., Chicago, University of Chicago Press, pp. 25 - 40.
[47] Simon, H. A. 2000. Bounded rationality in social science: today and tomorrow. Mind & Society, 1, pp. 25 - 39.
[48] Smith, V. L. 1982. Microeconomic system as an experimental science, American Economic Review, 72, pp. 923 - 955.
[49] Smith, V. L. 2000. Bargaining and market behavior: essays in experimental economics, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
[50] Strotz, R. H. 1955-1956. Myopia and inconsistency in dynamic utility maximization. Review of Economic Studies, 23 (3), pp. 165 - 180.
[51] Thaler, R. H. 1980. Towards a positive theory of consumer choice. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 1, pp. 39-60.
[52] Thaler, R. H. 1981. Some Empirical Evidence on Dynamic Inconsistency," Economic Letters, 8, pp. 201-207.
[53] Tversky, A., Kahneman, D. 1974. Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases, Science, 185, pp. 1124-31, September.
[54] Tversky, A., Kahneman D. 1986. Rational choice and the framing of decisions, Journal of Business, 59 (4) Part 2, pp. S251-S278.
Published
2011-12-31
How to Cite
GRAZIANO, Mario; SCHILIRÒ, Daniele.
RATIONALITY AND CHOICES IN ECONOMICS: BEHAVIORAL AND EVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES.
Theoretical and Practical Research in Economic Fields, [S.l.], v. 2, n. 2, p. 182-195, dec. 2011.
ISSN 2068-7710.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/tpref/article/view/1101>. Date accessed: 26 apr. 2024.
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