Questioning the homo economicus: Are concepts of rationality and self-interest outdated?

Authors

Knowledge@SMU

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

6-2012

Abstract

Many classical economic theories rely on the assumption that people, and thus markets, are rather predictable; that humans are rational and self-interested beings. Yet, psychologists have argued that human behaviours are highly complex and cannot be understood in these simple terms. The emergence of interdisciplinary research in both economics and psychology has narrowed the gaps and challenged traditional thinking, as participants at a SMU Social Sciences Capstone Seminar found out.

Disciplines

Law

Copyright Owner and Holder

Copyright © Singapore Management University 2012

Licece/Creative Commons Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Article ID

1435

Subject(s)

Law and Public Policy

Citation

Knowledge@SMU. Questioning the homo economicus: Are concepts of rationality and self-interest outdated?. (2012).
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/ksmu/230