THE ECONOMICS OF RATIONALITY

The concept of the rational economic agent is at the heart of modern economics. Mainstream economic theory seems unable to develop without the assumption that agents proceed by finding the optimal means to a well-defined end. Yet despite its centrality many economists find this concept of rationality of little use when trying to explain a wide range of economic phenomena.  This volume contains a number of critical perspectives on the treatment of rationality in economics. They are drawn from a variety of subdisciplines within economics. Insights from such diverse areas as game theory, experimental economics, psychology, post- Keynesian and institutional economics cast considerable doubt on whether a unitary conception of rationality within economics is possible or indeed desirable.