[OPE] Behavioural economics: a revolution in science?

... a revolution is under way in economic thought. Behavioural economics is no bell or whistle on the contraption of traditional economics; it is a big departure which will deliver a revolutionary new way of understanding the world. The founding assumptions of orthodox, neoclassical economics-that people can be thought of as rational, selfish and independent-are collapsing under the weight of empirical refutations. Here is one example: the "ultimatum game," which typifies the story of behavioural economics with a curious yet simple experiment. As you know, in this two-player game, the "proposer" is given a sum (say £10) on condition that he or she offers a proportion to the "responder." If the responder accepts the offer, each player gets the amounts agreed. If he or she rejects it, both get nothing. Orthodox economics says players are selfish, and so predicts that the proposer will offer just a penny and the responder, preferring a penny to nothing, will accept. But this is not what happens. The most common offer is half the total sum, and offers of less than 30 per cent are almost always rejected. If the proposer's offer is seen as unfair, the responder will decline free money. http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=10359

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Received on Sat Sep 27 13:20:22 2008