Are Political Economists Selfish and Indoctrinated? Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Most professional economists believe that economists in general are more selfish than other people and that this increased selfishness is due to economics education. This article offers empirical evidence against this widely held belief. Using a unique data set about giving behavior in connection with two social funds at the University of Zurich, it is shown that economics education does not make people act more selfishly. Rather, this natural experiment suggests that the particular behavior of economists can be explained by a selection effect.     

The problem of the 21st century: Economics faculty and the color line

With historical data on black economist hirings in Ph.D. granting economics programs and the supply of new black economics doctorates in the United States, this paper examines the conventional pipeline explanation for the dearth of blacks on economics faculties. Parameter estimates from count data specifications of a demand–supply relationship reveal that increases in the supply of new black economics doctorates do not increase, but instead decrease the likelihood of a Ph.D. granting economics department hiring black economists. Our results suggest that black economists are underrepresented on the faculties of Ph.D. granting economics departments by at least a factor of two. Instead of there simply being too few blacks earning economics doctorates to fill faculty jobs—the so-called pipeline problem—there appears to be a “color line” problem in that race explains the underrepresentation of blacks on the economics faculties of Ph.D. granting departments in the U.S.     

New directions for economics

Three new areas of investigation by economists are reviewed which involve interdisciplinary work with other social scientists: extending economic theory to noneconomic problems, taking into account the effect of human nature in human decision making, and exploring the impact of economic variables on noneconomic behavior. It is pointed out that this latter area has been neglected by economists and that economics ought to include the impact of the economy on society as part of its domain.     

Vom Experiment zur Praxis: Wie moralische Argumente wirtschaftliche Selbstinteressen beeinflussen

How do moral arguments influence economic self-interests? Behavioral economists try to answer this question using experiments, but their central results have not yet been tested in real economic life. A research project therefore reconstructed how moral arguments influenced economic self-interests in case studies of discussions about relocation. The results indicate that an orientation towards morality, as in the dictator- ultimatum- and collective goods game, also seems to influence how interests are defined and pursued in real economic life. Instead of maximizing economic self-interest, actors behave reciprocally. Results of behavioral experiments as well as the observation of case studies of economic behavior therefore hint towards economic actors that are influenced by reciprocity and social roles. This allows for a more precise understanding of economic behavior in many situations. Testing this in experiments of behavioral economics is in turn advocated based on the results of this article.     

WILLFUL BLINDNESS: THE INEFFICIENT REWARD STRUCTURE IN ACADEMIC RESEARCH

This article examines how economics departments judge research articles and assign credit to authors. It begins with a demonstration that only strictly prorated author credit induces researchers to choose e?cient sized teams. Nevertheless, survey evidence reveals that most economics departments only partially prorate authorship credit, implying excessive coauthorship. Indeed, a half‐century increase in coauthorship may be better explained by incomplete proration than by any increased specialization among authors. A possible explanation for the reliance on incomplete proration is the self‐interest of economists who are more likely to engage coauthorship—full professors. The self‐interest of senior faculty may also explain the relatively small role given to citations in senior promotions. A rational response by economists to the under‐proration of author credit is to engage in false authorship. Although false authorship is of dubious ethical status, it may have the perverse impact of improving the e?ciency of team production. Grossly excessive coauthorship, where little attention is paid to most authors listed on a paper, as found in some other academic disciplines, may be the path down which economics is headed if the reward structure is not altered. (JEL A14, O30, I23)     

Rational Choice Theory or Pretense? The Claims,Equivalences, and Analogies of the “Economic Approach to Human Behavior”

The article argues and demonstrates that classical–neoclassical economics generally does not pretend or claim that its principles apply to domains beyond the economy, specifically wealth, and does not equate the economic and the noneconomic, and the rational and the nonrational. By contrast, the “economic approach to human behavior” or “rational choice theory” precisely does this to legitimize itself by invoking classical–neoclassical economics as supreme authority and its representatives as venerable precursors. The article reveals the economic approach to human behavior as a set of grand theoretical and methodological claims, equivalences, and analogies from the standpoint of conventional economics itself, as well as sociology and other social sciences. It identifies and examines certain indicative instances of such tendencies. The article aims to contribute to understanding better the relations—or rather lack thereof—between conventional economics and contemporary economic and sociological rational choice theory. The economic approach to human behavior is not new, even outside the market sector. The rational choice model provides the most promising basis presently available for a unified approach to the analysis of the social world by scholars from different social sciences. — Gary Becker With respect to those parts of human conduct of which wealth is not even the principal object, to these political economy does not pretend that its conclusions are applicable. — John S. Mill But economy does not treat of all human motives. There are motives nearly always present with us, arising from conscience, compassion, or from some moral or religious source, which economy cannot and does not pretend to treat. These will remain to us as outstanding and disturbing forces; they must be treated, if at all, by other appropriate branches of knowledge. — William Jevons A science, therefore, based on the hypothesis (of universal rationality) would yield a general form of the social phenomenon having little or no contact with reality … — Vilfredo Pareto     

George Katona: A founding father of old behavioral economics

Assuming the division of behavioral economics into old and new, the paper begins to argue that old behavioral economics began with the works of two giants – George Katuna and Herbert Simon during the 1950s and early 1960s. The contributors of Herbert Simon are well established, thanks to the popularity of bounded rationality and satisficing, and his being award Noble Prize in economics. However, economists are much less familiar with the contributions of George Katona that can be viewed as the father of behavioral economics. Furthermore, the author argues that Katona was also misunderstood by various economists when he was attempting to create a psychologically based economics that rejected the mechanistic psychology of neoclassical economics and introducing the survey method to economic research that he had been using in his experimental psychology research previously. He also had influenced various economists during their debates in the 1950s without given the credit for. Many historians of behavioral economics limit Katona's contributions to the start of behavioral economics only to his contributions to macroeconomics. However, the paper demonstrates that Katona's behavioral economics included his contributions to macroeconomics (bringing realism to Keynesian consumption function and consumption behavior), micro-economics (business behavior, the rationality assumption, etc.), public finance and economic policy, and his introduction of the survey method. To demonstrate these contributions, the author argues that Katona attempted to bring realism to economic analysis – through psychological concepts – beginning with his early days of research in Germany which coincided with German hyper inflation- and continued whether working at New school for Social Research, Chicago University's Cowles Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or the University of Michigan's Survey Research Center. The author also argues that Katona's contributions went through stages, depending upon what economic problem persisted at the time, what advertises he was facing, and what institution/organization he was associated with.     

An Examination of the Relationship Between Gambling and Antisocial Behavior

Problem gambling is significantly more prevalent in forensic populations than in the general population. Although some previous work suggests that gambling and antisocial behavior are related, the extent and nature of this relationship is unclear. Both gambling and antisocial behavior are forms of risk-taking, and may therefore share common determinants. We investigated whether individual differences in personality traits associated with risk-taking, the Big Five personality traits, and antisocial tendencies predicted gambling and antisocial behavior among 180 male students recruited for a study of gambling (35.0% non-problem gamblers, 36.7% low-risk gamblers, 21.7% problem gamblers, and 6.7% pathological gamblers). All forms of gambling and antisocial behavior were significantly correlated. Personality traits associated with risk-acceptance explained a significant portion of the variance in problem gambling, general gambling involvement, and all forms of antisocial behavior. Antisocial tendencies (aggression and psychopathic tendencies) explained a significant portion of additional variance in severe antisocial behavior but not moderate or minor antisocial behavior. When controlling for personality traits associated with risk-acceptance, the relationship between gambling and antisocial behavior was greatly diminished. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that gambling and antisocial behavior are associated because they are, in part, different manifestations of similar personality traits.     

Social Competence and Antisocial Behavior: Continuity and Distinctiveness Across Early Adolescence

The degree of continuity and distinctiveness in social competence and antisocial behavior was examined in a longitudinal structural equation model. Participants were 391 typically developing Norwegian middle school students (51% boys), their parents, and teachers and were assessed when they were approximately 13 years of age (a school cohort in 8th grade) and again 17 months later, when they were about 15 years old (in 10th grade). Social competence showed considerable stability across middle school, more than did antisocial behavior. Low social competence at age 13 predicted antisocial behavior at age 15, over and above the variance explained by the earlier assessment of antisocial behavior. While social competence and antisocial behavior both showed a relatively strong negative association concurrently and demonstrated considerable overlap, results suggested that the two constructs should be considered separate dimensions. Findings are presented within a transactional framework and implications for prevention efforts and directions for future research are discussed.     

Economic advice as a vocation: symbioses of scientific and political authority

Academic economists perform an important function in advising politicians and state bureaucrats, lending them epistemological authority. This creates a challenge of institutional design and of professional vocation, of how these experts can combine their commitment to scientific analysis with their commitment towards their governmental patrons. This article examines the case of anti-trust economics, in which government economists are encouraged to remain as academically engaged as possible, so that their advice will be - or appear to be - unpolluted by political or bureaucratic pressures. Yet this ideal is constantly compromised by the fact that the economists are nevertheless government employees, working beneath lawyers. Max Weber's concept of a 'vocation' is adopted to explore this tension, and his two lectures, 'Science as a Vocation' and 'Politics as a Vocation' are read side by side, to consider this core dilemma of academic policy advisors.     

Cannabis Use and Antisocial Behavior among Youth

Despite the numerous efforts to curb substance use and abuse through legislation and interventions, marijuana consumption continues to be a major social problem, particularly among young adults in the United States. We provide new information on the relationship between cannabis use and antisocial behavior by analyzing a sample of young adults (aged 18–20) from the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). We examine a broad set of cannabis use patterns and multiple dimensions of antisocial behaviors and test the empirical importance of two prominent criminological theories—general strain and social bond—in explaining associations between cannabis use and antisocial behavior. We include important socioeconomic, demographic, health and health behaviors, and contextual information in all regressions to control for confounding factors. Our results imply that cannabis use is positively and significantly related to antisocial behavior among young adults, and general strain and social bond theories cannot fully explain our findings. As expected, the estimated association with antisocial behavior is stronger for more frequent cannabis users.     

The role of preferences in disagreements over scientific hypothesis: Evidence on cognitive bias in formation of beliefs

Have you ever heard the joke that if you ask three economists for an economic policy advice, you will get at least four different answers? This study takes the joke seriously by investigating whether an agent's wish for a scientific hypothesis to be true affects the agent's belief that the hypothesis is true. Using theories in psychology of cognitive bias we argue that, given certain circumstances, a positive preference–expectation relationship is actually expected, and we test the theoretical prediction using a sample of students in economics and science. The scientific hypothesis used in our empirical inquiry is the highly debated Porter hypothesis. The Porter hypothesis suggests that environmental regulations, such as those restricting firms to reduce pollution, stimulate innovations and create a win-win situation for the environment and for firms. Our results show that the students in economics who care more about the environment are more likely to believe in the Porter hypothesis. The results are in line with Fuchs et al. (1998) and Mayer (2001) who found that there is a correlation between economists’ policy positions and their ideological values.     

Economics as a Multi-Paradigmatic Science: the ‘Best Kept Secret’ of Irrational Choice

The article reexamines the prevailing perception of traditional economics as the science of rational choice among contemporary economists and sociologists, especially rational choice theorists. It proposes that conventional economics is not exclusively the theory of rational choice but also one of irrational choices in the economy. The article aims to contribute toward a fuller understanding and appreciation of classical and neoclassical economics, especially among sociologists, as composite rational choice-irrational choice theory and in that sense a multi- rather than single-paradigm science, thus no different from sociology and other social (and physical) sciences. This may be relevant or interesting to sociologists given that their rational choice colleagues, like economists, extol the “virtues" of conventional and modern economics as a single-paradigm, theoretically unified science around “rational choice” and criticize the “vices” of sociology as plagued by competing paradigms and theoretical disunity. The article supports many economic sociologists’ view or intuition of conventional economics as complex rational-irrational choice theory and multi-paradigm science, and disconfirms rational choice theorists’ interpretation and generalization of it as “rational choice theory” only and single-paradigm unified science.     

A behavioral mindset on environment policy

Environmental policy is made in a complex confluence of markets, missing markets, and no markets. Despite this messy mixture, economists offer working rules to help guide policy based on classic rational choice theory. But numerous behavioral studies suggest that rational choice is a poor guide—anomalous behavior like preference reversals and unexpected gaps in measures of value undercut the rational underpinnings of environmental policy. Other studies find, however, that these anomalies disappear once people must make choices within reach of others who can punish irrational choices. This paper reviews these conflicting behavioral views to better understand the power and limits of the rational economic rules used to guide environmental policy     

Schools,Their Spatial Distribution and Characteristics,and Fertility Limitation*

This article investigates the complex relationship between various dimensions of women's educational context and their contraceptive use later in life. Using data from rural Nepal on all the schools that ever existed in one community, I create geographically weighted measures of school characteristics—specifically teacher and student characteristics—that capture exposure to the complete array of schools and investigate the direct relationship between these dimensions of school characteristics and contraceptive use. These analyses provide new information on the broader issue of how social context influences the adoption of innovative behaviors by exploring the wide-reaching effects of school characteristics on individuals. Findings show that the gender of teachers, the gender of other students, and the level of teacher education are all related to women's use of contraception; that increased exposure to these school characteristics throughout the study area, but not necessarily at the closest school, is related to higher rates of contraceptive use; and that school characteristics early in the life course can have long-term consequences for individual behavior.     

Individual and relationship capital: Implications for theory and research on families

It is proposed that the concept of human capital should include both individual and relationship capital. A conceptual model illustrating the investment of human capital in individuals, marriages, and families is presented. Indicators of individual, marital, and familial capital are proposed. Implications of the concepts of individual, marital, and familial capital for theory and research on family processes are discussed. It is suggested that family economists should employ a broader range of measures of human capital and use the concept of relationship capital and that family scientists should use the concepts of individual and relationship capital in theory and research on families. Defining human capital in this manner creates new ways of applying the human capital concept to families.This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the 17th Annual South-eastern Regional Family Economics/Home Management Conference, held at the University of Georgia-Athens, February 4–6, 1988. The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions.His research interests include transmission of values in families, family routines, and family stress and coping. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.Her research interests include family resource management and the relationship between conflict among family members and perception of resources. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.     

Gender Differences in the Developmental Links Between Conduct Problems and Depression Across Early Adolescence

Various developmental models have attempted to explain the relationship between antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms in youth, often proposing intermediary processes such as social and academic functioning. However, few studies have tested these developmental models fully, particularly in mixed‐gender samples. The current study strives to fill this gap in the literature, examining these processes in an early adolescent sample. Results indicated both direct and indirect paths between antisocial behavior and depression. In addition, potentially important gender differences were found. These results underscore the importance of examining direct and indirect links between symptoms of depression and antisocial behavior and suggest that there may be important developmental differences between girls and boys in the relationship between these symptoms.     

The concept of a “merit good” the ethical dimension in economic theory and the history of economic thought or the transformation of economics into socio-economics

The purpose of this paper is to defend the concept of a “merit good” and to expand its application. This is achieved by using a Kantian philosophical argument applied to the writings of foundational economists such as Adam Smith and Henry Simons (and Walter Eucken in the German literature). As a result the concept of a “merit good” is used to classify and argue for a number of governmental tasks such as the institutional arrangements to make a free market economy work, work efficiently and work in a humane way. Methodologically, this paper connects—as the work of Joseph A. Schumpeter already has—economic theory, the history of economic thought and institutional economics and thereby demonstrates that economics is necessarily about socio-economics.     

Religiosity of Adolescents and their Friends and Network Associates: Homophily and Associations With Antisocial Behavior

This study assessed the similarity of adolescents and their friends and peer network associates in religiosity and the extent to which these relationships were associated with antisocial behavior. The sample included 1010 Indonesian (480 male, 530 female) 8th (13.37 years) and 10th grade (15.36 years) students. Adolescents were similar to their mutual friends and network associates (identified using Social Cognitive Mapping) in religiosity, and the religiosity of both friends and network associates added to male adolescents' self‐religiosity in predicting antisocial behavior; these effects were not present for girls. Peers may associate with others similar to themselves in religiosity and these associations may partially explain why religious boys exhibit low levels of aggressive behavior.     

Assessing the Moderating Effects of Depressive Symptoms on Antisocial Behavior among Urban Youth in Public Housing

This study assesses whether the influences of attitude towards deviance, exposure to delinquent peers and parental supervision and encouragement on antisocial behavior are moderated by depressive symptoms. Two hundred and thirty eight African American adolescents ages 13–19 from three public housing developments participated in this study. Results indicate that approximately half of the youth did not engage in antisocial behaviors in the last year. Gender, depression, attitudes and peers were significant correlates of antisocial behavior. Parental supervision and encouragement, and age were not related to antisocial behavior. Interaction effects suggest that the relative influences of attitudes towards deviance and delinquent peers on antisocial behaviors depend upon gender and level of depression symptoms. Implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.