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Topic: Homo economicus

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Homo sapiens

	Homo economicus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Homo economicus, or Economic man, is a term used for an approximation or model of homo sapiens that acts to obtain the highest possible well-being for himself given available information about opportunities and other constraints, both natural and institutional, on his ability to achieve his predetermined goals.
		Homo economicus is seen as "rational" in the sense that well-being as defined by the utility function is optimized given perceived opportunities.
		Other critics of the homo economicus model of humanity, such as Bruno Frey, point to the excessive emphasis on extrinsic motivation (rewards and punishments from the social environment) as opposed to intrinsic motivation.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Homo_economicus (1417 words)

	Buchanan: Collected Works; Brennan and Buchanan, The Reason of Rules: Constitutional Political Economy, Chapter 4: ...
		In specifying Homo economicus as a net wealth maximizer, for example, one may fail to explain much of what can be observed, but the observations may not be definitive because the defender of the model may resort to changes in the specification of the choosers' utility functions.
		Using the Homo economicus behavior model in constitutional analysis, and justifying this use on analytic rather than empirical grounds, is a procedure we have borrowed from the classical political economist-philosophers in their analysis of political institutions.
		Homo economicus, the rational, self-oriented maximizer of contemporary economic theory, is, we believe, the appropriate model of human behavior for use in evaluating the workings of different institutional orders.
	www.econlib.org /library/Buchanan/buchCv10c4.html (7051 words)

	Learn more about Homo economicus in the online encyclopedia. (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		Homo economicus bases his choices only the consideration of his own personal "utility function".
		The Austrian School criticise homo economicus as an actor for economic forecasting.
		Although not typically used this way, Homo economicus could probably also be used, with some degree of felicity, to critique the characters of Ayn Rand.
	www.onlineencyclopedia.org /h/ho/homo_economicus.html (478 words)

	Acton Institute (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		As homo economicus the consumer is free to choose whatever he or she is able to afford, makes those choices informed strictly by reason for the purpose of satisfying some want, and takes into account not only experiences in the past (is hindsighted) but also hopes and plans for the future (is foresighted).
		As the new homo economicus, the consumer is free to choose whatever he or she is able to afford but is morally accountable for the choices made and makes those choices informed by reason and emotion, both by mind and heart, for the purpose of satisfying some want or meeting some need.
		Required is a new homo economicus who understands that wages and salaries are not simply reducible to the forces of supply and demand in the labor market and that the duty of the supervisor is not fully served by the old economics and its law of nature.
	www.acton.org /publicat/m_and_m/2003_fall/oboyle.html (16112 words)

	Myth: Homo economicus is a valid assumption
		Myth: Homo economicus is a valid assumption of human behavior.
		Fact: Homo economicus is a fiction useful to right-wing economists.
		The reasons why economist use such a flawed model as Homo economicus is because it makes their economic analysis simpler and allows them to generate results that confirm their pet prejudices.
	www.huppi.com /kangaroo/L-homoeconomicus.htm (3361 words)

	[No title] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		Homo economicus comes packaged with a whole set of values that have been extensively discussed in the literature, and the following are not to be seen as comprehensive.
		This criticism, of course, applies to a whole range of neoclassical theorising from public choice, the extension of the homo economicus assumption to the sphere of politics, to the research programme associated with Gary Becker, applying the traditional economic toolbox to a wide range of social issues.
		The homo economicus assumption naturally leads to an emphasis on monetary incentives as opposed to relying on such factors as loyalty or professional ethos (Sawyer, 1992, p.32).
	www.soc.uoc.gr /econ/static_content/seminars/Tsakalotos.doc (8106 words)

	EconLog, Is Homo Economicus A Sociopath?, Bryan Caplan: Library of Economics and Liberty
		Homo economicus would perform acts that were grounds for arrest, deceive, and disregard the safety of others if it were profitable.
		Homo economicus might be irresponsible if he were not paid for being responsible, but he shows up for work and pays his bills if the alternative is being fired and unable to get a home loan.
		So: homo economicus can be the saint, with an altruistic utility function, who feels disutility from the sheer act of deception or inflicting of harm.
	econlog.econlib.org /archives/2005/08/is_homo_economi.html (1440 words)

	Boston Review \| Herbert Gintis and H. Allen Orr: Why Do We Cooperate? (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		Homo reciprocans is neither the unconditional altruist adored by the left, nor the rationally self-interested Homo economicus championed by the right.
		Proponents of the Homo economicus model initially suggested that the reason for decay of public contribution is that participants do not understand the game at first, and as they begin to learn it, they realize the superiority of the free-riding strategy.
		In all the experiments a significant fraction of subjects (about a quarter, typically) conform to the self-interested preferences of Homo economicus, and it is often the self-serving behavior of this minority that, when it goes unpunished, unravels initial generosity and cooperation.
	www.bostonreview.net /br23.1/gintis.html (3818 words)

	Tit-for-Tat doesn't explain us but it does explain Homo Sovieticus \| Samizdata.net
		Homo economicus might be reasonably described as a sociopath if he were to be set loose in society.
		But although Soviet individuals were all Economicus (apart from some of the dissidents), the system as a whole was Sovieticus, thus giving them the worst of all possible worlds.
		One of the deeper ironies of actually existing socialism (or "socialism" as we samizdatistas like to call it) is that socialism recreates in the purest form the precise vices that it wrongly attributes to "capitalism".
	www.samizdata.net /blog/archives/002792.html (1055 words)

	Deinonychus antirrhopus: Beyond Homo economicus (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		Homo economicus has provided a wealth of results when there are well defined markest (double continuous auctions) as well as oligopoly models (Davis and Holt 1993, Kachelmaier and Shehata 1992).
		The orgin of Homo equalis is from the anthorpological literature (Gintis 2000).
		Homo economicus is a heuristic - an approximation of the human mind.
	www.steveverdon.com /archives/gametheory/002107.html (5150 words)

	Deinonychus antirrhopus: Comment on Beyond Homo economicus (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		In the public goods games for example a percentage of the players do play according to Homo economicus and this could be one reason why the cooperation in early stages deteriorates to the point where in later stages everybody is playing according to Homo economicus.
		Whereas if homo economicus assumes only that people will maximize according to what they value (but that what they value might be something else---karma, money, free time), i.e., that people engage in cost-benefit calculations in order to maximize something that they value, that would still seem to be true for all people.
		Homo reciprocans does suggest that at later stages in a game if a player is defecting routinely and early on, that defecting will become the norm even for Homo reciprocans as Homo reciprocans will seek to punish the early and frequent defectors.
	www.steveverdon.com /cgi-bin/mov/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=2107 (3370 words)

	Encyclopedia Galactica - Ho to Ht - Human (Anglic) Revised 351st Edition
		Beside normal intelligence amplification, attention control and nanonic market linkups Homo economicus is equipped with a rational motivation system, which is both tuned to a library of optimal utility functions, a sense of pleasure linked to economic rather than visceral stimuli and a amendment submodule enabling motivation tuning if needed.
		Homo economicus does not have a shared culture, although dedication to NoCoZo ideals is very common.
		Homo sapiens evolved from Homo erectus and eventually replaced Homo neanderthalensis to become the sole hominid species and subspecies.
	www.orionsarm.com /eg/h/Ho-Ht.html (2470 words)

	Some Amendments to Social Exchange Theory: A Sociological Perspective
		They explicitly seek to rehabilitate homo economicus in the image of what is described as a new, plain “economic man” (Homans, 1961: 79-81), which implies a resort to a sort of primitive folk psychology, like in the case of rational choice theory.
		Ironically, such an actor concept seems closer to homo sociologicus that exchange and other rational choice theorists reject than to homo economicus in the strict sense, as an assumed embodiment of perfect rationality and driven by the ingrained propensity to exchange for maximum gain.
		Homo sociologicus is an intentional actor, endowed with a set of preferences, seeking acceptable ways of realising his objectives, conscious of the degree of control over the elements of the situation (of the structural constraints), acting in the light of limited information and in a situation of uncertainty.
	theoryandscience.icaap.org /content/vol004.002/01_zafirovski.html (10389 words)

	Kids.net.au - Encyclopedia Homo economicus - (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		Homo economicus, or Economic man, is a term used for an approximation of Homo sapiens that acts to obtain the highest possible well-being given available information about opportunities.
		To the extent that this utility function does not consider the well-being of others, Home economicus is selfish.
		Kids.net.au - Search engine for kids, children, educators and teachers - Searching sites designed for kids that are child safe and clean.
	www.kids.net.au /encyclopedia-wiki/ho/Homo_economicus (358 words)

	Homo Economicus
		Under this entry, there is an external link to a criticism of the concept of Homo Economicus as a valid assumption for human behavior.
		A liberal essay rebutting the myth that Homo economicus is a valid assumption of human behavior.
		I hear that Canada is a better place now with the gun registry; I've seen a documentary that showed how people don't even need to lock their doors up there.
	www.churchofvirus.org /bbs/index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=29616;start=0 (4413 words)

	Epistemological Problems, Subjective Theory of Value, homo economicus (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		The much talked about homo economicus of the classical theory is the personification of the principles of the businessman.
		Therefore, the homo economicus is not a fiction in Vaihinger's sense.
		It did not escape even the classical economists that the economizing individual as a party engaged in trade does not always and cannot always remain true to the principles governing the businessman, that he is not omniscient, that he can err, and that, under certain conditions, he even prefers his comfort to a profit-making business.
	www.vonmises.org /epofe/c5sec4.asp (762 words)

	Module 1
		A central concept in normative decision theory is the ideal of the rational economic (hu)man - homo economicus.
		The origins of homo economicus can be traced far back, at least to Jeremy Bentham (1738 – 1832), but probably even further.
		The ideal of the homo economicus is far removed from actual human behaviour.
	www.ida.liu.se /~eriho/IDIS/Module_2_M.htm (1583 words)

	NEOLIBERAL NOSTRUMS N° 1 - HOMO ECONOMICUS THE ECONOMIC MAN
		Libs and neolibs had the scientific answer to this behavioral conundrum: Homo Economicus is a natural brute only seeking more pleasure and less pain.
		Homo Economicus was like a billiard ball in cyberspace, a freeflowing ion in an electric field.
		What was needed was a human behavior model just a bit more realistic than good old Homo Economicus, that good old caveman roughing it out on the super flat playfield, even digging trenches in it from time to time when an invigorating war was cooked up.
	dieoff.org /page227.htm (12836 words)

	[No title] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		Petrarch’s economic climate gave rise to the figure of homo economicus in a new commercial setting.
		I am going to argue that Petrarch’s persona of the homo litterarum overlaps with that of the homo economicus, and that their convergence informs his conception of poetry, his role as a vernacular poet, and his deployment of figurations of economic transaction and exchange in his Rime sparse.
		His entrepreneureal skills as homo economicus litterarum enable him to manage these resources, to recognize opportunities that enhance them, and to strategize his approach to maximizing their possibilities.
	dlcl.stanford.edu /renaissances/PetrarchEconomicus-Stanford.doc (9733 words)

	Essaydirect.com: Homo Economicus — died out in the process of human evolution? Applicability of the Economic Man ... (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		For such humanists as Humboldt, Schiller and Goethe, the E. was a constituent of the industrial society: rational, egoistic, a-historical and with a lack of tradition -- a rival beast of Homo Humanus.
		A general conception of Homo Economicus is the pursuit of rational self-interest, which is in accord with his own preferences.
		If the concept of Homo Economicus is applied to a larger institutional framework, every company is a profit maximizer, which is responsible to the shareholders.
	www.essaydirect.com /preview/1493.html (685 words)

	Hominid With Heart
		Economics has a more scientific-sounding fellow: Homo economicus, whose faux-zoological name reflects the Enlightenment roots of the discipline.
		economicus is motivated more than anything else by the prospect of material gain.
		Gintis and Boles are currently section-chairmen in a five-year research initiative, funded by the MacArthur Foundation and involving economists from across the country, to broaden tradition economic models.
	www.umass.edu /umassmag/archives/1997/spring_97/spring_hominid.html (1343 words)

	Creating Positive Context: From the Rational to the Relational: Creating "Delightful Organisations" (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		And the most fundamental assumption in management is that human beings are members of the race Homo Economicus, rational maximisers of self-interest.
		Homo economicus has been softened a bit round the edges over the years.
		Homo Economicus would not tip taxi-drivers he'll never see again, offer expensive Xmas presents to people who may not reciprocate, or indulge in any spontaneous acts that brighten every day...
	chrislawer.blogs.com /chris_lawer/2004/01/from_the_ration.html (1196 words)

	Outside The Beltway : Homo Reciprocans in Action?
		Homo economicus would happily take it: "It's not like I signed a contract!" But most people would at least think twice before accepting the gift.
		My best guess is that (a) Our natural psychological reaction to a favor is gratitude and a desire to reciprocate, and (b) We are rational enough to foresee our reaction and try to avert it.
		If you give a nice gift, you want the other person to reciprocate as well (the Ultimatum Game is also a good way to see how Homo reciprocans works).
	www.outsidethebeltway.com /archives/10778 (538 words)

	Feminism Confronts Homo Economicus: Gender, Law, And Society (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-07)
		Feminism Confronts Homo Economicus offers a major intervention in debates about how law has come under the influence of economic principles.
		Drawing on the latest thinking in the fields of feminist legal theory, critical legal studies, and feminist economics, the essays critique the notion that legal and policy decisions should be made solely through the lens of economics.
		Situated at the intersection of feminism, law, and economics, Feminism Confronts Homo Economicus will appeal to scholars and students of these disciplines as well as policy analysts and social theorists interested in family, education, labor, and welfare.
	isbn.nu /0801489415 (489 words)

	Infectious Greed: Bats, balls, cows and homo economicus
		Paul K on Bats, balls, cows and homo economicus
		Peter C. Krieger on Bats, balls, cows and homo economicus
		In light of flu fear, and the current panic about mad cow consumption, his comments about homo economicus and people's tendency to overweight low probability outcomes are awfully relevant.
	paul.kedrosky.com /archives/000143.html (271 words)

	SSRN-On the Proper Motives of Corporate Directors (Or, Why You Don't Want to Invite Homo Economicus to Join Your Board) ...
		This homo economicus model of behavior may be fundamentally misleading when applied to corporate directors.
		The institution of the corporate board is premised on the expectation, and the experience, of director altruism, in the form of a sense of obligation to the firm and its shareholders.
		These results may offer a foundation for building a model of human behavior that is both more accurate and more useful than the homo economicus model.
	papers.ssrn.com /sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=389407 (473 words)

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