Culture, Social Norms and Economics

by Mark Casson

Overview

Economists have often been accused of failing to take full account of culture and social norms in their explanations of human behaviour. Cultural factors are playing an increasingly important role in economic theorizing and are achieving greater recognition as determinants of economic performance. As such these volumes will be a landmark and will provide easy access to the most important articles in this expanding field.

The first volume focuses on modelling the social and cultural aspects of an individual's behaviour. In the second volume this theme develops to consider cooperation in the economic system and the role of culture in supporting this system.

The articles in these volumes explore a diverse range of issues including:

• the differences in achievements between ethnic groups
• the differences between firms from different countries
• the links between religion, community, ethnicity and economic performance.
• the influences of leadership, peer pressure, entrepreneurship, envy, status-seeking and self esteem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781858986173
Publisher:	Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication date:	02/11/1998
Series:	The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics series , #83
Pages:	1224
Product dimensions:	6.62(w) x 9.62(h) x 3.80(d)

About the Author

Edited by Mark Casson, Professor of Economics and Director, Centre for Economic Institutions and Business History, University of Reading, UK

Table of Contents

Contents: Volume I: Economic Behaviour Part I: Introduction Part II: Altruism, Envy and Interdependent References Part III: Social Aspects of Preferences: Rank and Status Part IV: Passions and Self-Control • Volume II: Economic Perfornance Part I: Co-operation Part II: Social Order Without Law Part III: Leadership and Peer Pressure Part IV: Religion and the Nature of Belief Part V: Entrepreneurial Culture Part VI: National Culture and Economic Perfornance Name Index

Editorial Reviews

'The two volumes are a welcome source for all interested in the rather successful but somewhat limited and sometimes problematic rational choice approach usually applied by economists (and since some time also by political scientists, sociologists and legal scholars). The reader will find many until now widely dispersed articles, which not only address the application of this method to other subjects than the market economy, but also its shortcomings, and which try to rectify them by widening or transforming it. Thus the two volumes can be strongly recommended. . .'

Peter Bernholz

Fifty-four articles published between 1907 and 1995 highlight recent research which adopts a broader, more optimistic view of human behavior than the stereotypical economist. Topics include the holistic view of social science and the progressive view of society that inspired the economic writers of the Scottish enlightenment; aspects of modelling individual preferences when the assumption of selfishness is dropped; how cultural values affect the incentive to cooperate; intermediation by society or by a leader, as alternatives to the law; and religious belief and entrepreneurship. No index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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