Suchergebnisse

In Ethics in Economics , Jonathan B. Wight provides an overview of the role that ethical considerations play in economic debates. Whereas much of the field tends to focus on welfare outcomes, Wight calls for a deeper examination of the origin and evolution of our moral norms. He argues that economic life relies on three interrelated ethical systems: outcome-based, duty- and rule-based, and virtue-based. Integrating contemporary theoretical and applied research on ethics within a historical framework, Wight provides a thorough and accessible outline of all three schools, explaining how they fit or contrast with the economic welfare model. The book then uses these conceptual underpinnings to examine a range of contemporary topics, such as the 2008 financial crisis, the moral limits to markets, the findings of experimental economics, and the nature of economic justice. Wight's analysis is guided by the innovative concept of ethical pluralism-the recognition that each system has appropriate applications, and that no one prevails. He makes the case that considering a wider moral framework, rather than concentrating on utility maximization, can lead to a richer understanding of human behavior and better policy decisions. An incisive overview in a blossoming area of interest within Economics, this book is ideal for undergraduates or uninitiated readers who seek an introduction to this topic

In Ethics in Economics , Jonathan B. Wight provides an overview of the role that ethical considerations play in economic debates. Whereas much of the field tends to focus on welfare outcomes, Wight calls for a deeper examination of the origin and evolution of our moral norms. He argues that economic life relies on three interrelated ethical systems: outcome-based, duty- and rule-based, and virtue-based. Integrating contemporary theoretical and applied research on ethics within a historical framework, Wight provides a thorough and accessible outline of all three schools, explaining how they fit

This chapter seeks to demonstrate that investigations in positive economics rely on ethical perspectives and practices, and further, that critical thinking requires a wider ethical viewpoint than normative economics generally permits. Positive economics generally relies, for example, on the unsung virtues of the investigator who demonstrates honesty and transparency in the search for truth. Ethical failures in this regard are not uncommon (DeMartino, 2011). But another unstated ethical perspective appears in the worldview from which a researcher sets out to model behavior. Modelers almost always assume that rationality requires that an economic actor undertake an action in pursuit of a goal or end. Hence, positive economics is said to be the analysis of outcomes based on a theoretical understanding of causal relationships (if action X is taken, outcome Y will result). This broad analytical approach is termed consequentialism.

The Anglo-American capitalist model (AACM) encompasses a set of theories and policies that advance the classical objectives of individual autonomy, wealth acquisition, and economic growth. In the twentieth century, the neoclassical goal of short-run Pareto efficiency was added yet remains in possible tension with these other aims. The AACM generally upholds the primacy of markets as the means for achieving its normative ideals through private, decentralized actions, with some exceptions. In the modern political arena this ideology is associated with the Reagan-Thatcher revolution of the 1980s and provides a framework for many who oppose statist solutions to social problems (Steger and Roy 2010). The AACM has come under attack from a variety of perspectives because of its assumptions of perfectly rational traders, competitive markets, incentive compatibilities, low transaction costs, informational symmetries, and no externalities (Stiglitz 2007; Kay 2004). This paper examines a different critique arising from the a-historical and a-institutional manner in which the AACM has been adopted by some neoclassical policy makers. This criticism, incidentally, also applies to statist models adopted in the 1950s that likewise ignored institutional constraints and path dependency issues.

An exploration of the relationship between public policy, economic growth, & human instincts, focuses on Botswana, the only African country labeled a "success story." It is argued that economic growth depends on the compatibility of institutions/policies with instincts, including the instinct for self-betterment. An overview of growth theory highlights Adam Smith's idea that "public policies can work with instincts to create economic progress." The potential for policies to produce positive or negative outcomes is explored, along the results of a World Data Survey of countries with the highest growth/income rates per capita over the last 30 years which revealed a surprisingly large diversity of institutions & policies across a spectrum of successful economies. Other matters discussed include Adam Smith's exploration of instincts for oneself, for others, & against others; contemporary experiments that corroborate his theories; & attempts to develop innovative policies that work with human instincts. Attention is given to how instincts for betterment were drawn upon in Botswana but not in its unsuccessful neighbor Zambia. Figures, References. J. Lindroth

This volume contains the fruits of a two-year seminar on ethics and economics funded by the John Templeton Foundation and administered through the Gruter Institute for Law and Behavioral Research. Participants came from the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities, and included Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith and other figures such as Frans de Waal, Herbert Gintis, Robert Frank, and Robert Solomon (for whom the book is dedicated in memoriam). The book's editor, Paul Zak, is a pioneer in the emerging field of neuroeconomics, which uses medical technology to discover the physiological manifestations of cooperative and altruistic behavior. A theme of the book is that human behaviors are moderated by biological realities that have important implications for the operation of society and markets. In particular, recent laboratory findings have uncovered the psychological interconnections between people that create organic interactions that do not fit neatly within the rational choice model