Projects per year
Abstract
Neoclassical economics assumes that individuals have stable and context-independent preferences, and uses preference-satisfaction as a normative criterion. By calling this assumption into question, behavioural findings cause fundamental problems for normative economics. A common response to these problems is to treat deviations from conventional rational-choice theory as mistakes, and to try to reconstruct the preferences that individuals would have acted on, had they reasoned correctly. We argue that this preference purification approach implicitly uses a dualistic model of the human being, in which an inner rational agent is trapped in an outer psychological shell. This model is psychologically and philosophically problematic.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-25 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Journal of Economic Methodology |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 14 Mar 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Keywords
- preference purification
- inner rational agent
- behavioural welfare economics
- libertarian paternalism
- context-dependent preferences
Profiles
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Robert Sugden
- School of Economics - Professor of Economics
- Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Science - Member
- Centre for Competition Policy - Member
- Behavioural Economics - Member
- Economic Theory - Member
Person: Research Group Member, Research Centre Member, Academic, Teaching & Research
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Network for Intergrated Behavioural Science
Starmer, C., Turocy, T., Barr, A., Brown, G., Chater, N., Cubitt, R., Fatas, E., Gathergood, J., Gosling, S., Lomes, G., MacKay, R., Poulsen, A., Read, D., Stewart, N., Sugden, R. & Zizzo, D.
Economic and Social Research Council
31/12/12 → 30/12/16
Project: Research
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'On the Econ within': a reply to Daniel Hausman
Infante, G., Lecouteux, G. & Sugden, R., 2016, In: Journal of Economic Methodology. 23, 1, p. 33-37 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Open AccessFile13 Citations (Scopus)25 Downloads (Pure) -
Looking for a psychology for the inner rational agent
Sugden, R., Oct 2015, In: Social Theory and Practice. 41, 4, p. 579-598 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile25 Downloads (Pure)