Arguing About Tastes
Modeling How Context and Experience Change Economic Preferences
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Columbia University Press
Published:26th Dec '23
Should be back in stock very soon
Mainstream economics considers individual preferences to be fixed and unchanging. Although psychologists and other social scientists explore how tastes are formed, influenced, and evolve, it is not considered “proper” in orthodox economics to do so. Arguing About Tastes makes the case that economists should abandon the principle that preferences are fixed and instead incorporate into their work how context and experience shape individual tastes.
David M. Kreps argues that the discipline must account for dynamic personal tastes when it comes to understanding social exchange, emphasizing human resource management and on-the-job behavior. He develops formal models that illustrate the power of intrinsic motivation and show why applying extrinsic incentives can be counterproductive. Kreps weighs the advantages and disadvantages of the principle de gustibus non est disputandum: there is no arguing about tastes. He calls for a new era of economics in which preferences are taken into account—and not for granted.
Arguing About Tastes concludes with responses by the distinguished economists Alessandra Casella and Joseph E. Stiglitz and a final reply by Kreps.
David Kreps’ Arguing About Tastes masterfully delves into the concept of endogeneity of tastes. He takes his readers on an insightful journey that challenges conventional wisdom with refreshing perspective on the dynamic forces that shape our choices. -- George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2001
Arrow and Debreu told us where to go to see how reality differs from perfect markets; Kreps's book tells us how to get there by mapping out a clear route to the place where preferences are formed. -- Oriana Bandiera, The London School of Economics
Kreps, a brilliant economic theorist, shows how to bring intrinsic motivation, self-perception, and identity into thinking about contracts and organization. A persuasive argument for why intrinsic motives and identity should be part of economic modeling. -- Colin Camerer, California Institute of Technology
Should economists deal with tastes? Or should de gustibus non est disputandum continue to reign? In Arguing About Tastes, David Kreps compellingly argues that it is time to pay attention to the formation and transformation of tastes to increase the realism and scope of economic theory. A nuanced, critical, and eye-opening book. -- Gerd Gigerenzer, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Had I been paid to compose this blurb, would I have spent more time and effort trying to perfect it, or less? In this provocative book, David Kreps, with a long-term agenda of creating realistic models of individual behavior for economic analysis, shows why this question matters for economics along with a rich analysis of possible answers. -- Bengt Holmström, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2016
David Kreps has made monumental contributions to economic theory, which takes stable preferences as a fundamental assumption. In this incredibly insightful book, he argues and formally shows how context—from people’s identity and self-perception, to their decision environment—plays a critical role in shaping and changing preferences. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in what is coming next in economics. -- Alex Imas, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Arguing About Tastes is a bold venture into scantily charted territory in microeconomics - the land of endogenous preferences - but I can think of no better guide than David Kreps. Professor Kreps brings energy, humor and joy to the theory-building work that make this book a pleasure to read. -- Matthew Nagler, The Graduate Center, CUNY
ISBN: 9780231209908
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
216 pages