Homo Phileconomicus

What Was “It” that Robbins Was Defining?

Experimental Economics: Contributions, Recent Developments, and New Challenges

A Brief History of Production Functions

LIONEL ROBBINS’S ESSAY ON THE NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE -

75TH ANNIVERSARY

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Lionel Robbins’s Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science.

The Department of Economics at LSE and the editors of Economica have decided to mark this anniversary by a
conference and a special issue of the journal. (more…)

The next HES Annual Conference will be held at York University, in Toronto, Canada,
27-30 June 2008. As details become available, they will be posted on the HES website http://historyofeconomics.org/

Building on its previous research in the history of econometrics, modelling and measurement in economics, the History and Methodology Group of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the UvA is starting a new project. A recently awarded innovational research grant (VIDI) from the Netherlands Science Foundation (NWO) will enable us to write a history of observational practices in economics. We invite applications for Two PhD positions in the History and Methodology of Economics at the Universiteit van Amsterdam (more…)

The History of Economics Society is sponsoring the following sessions at the 2008 ASSA meetings in New Orleans. Jan. 4, 10:15 am, HES/AFA (more…)

ESHET Young Scholars Seminar
The European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) invites four young scholars (i.e. those who are working on, or have just completed a PhD, regardless of their age) to present their work at the Young Scholars Seminar to be held during the ESHET Conference in Prague, May 15-17, 2008 . The Society will provide for board, accommodation, registration fees and travel expenses up to €200. Each young scholar will have 30 minutes to present his/her paper and a senior scholar, appointed by the ESHET Council, will discuss it.
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Call for Papers

The 12th Annual Conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) will be held at the University of Economics, Prague (Czech Republic), 15th - 17th May, 2008.

The special theme of this year’s conference is Development and Transition in the History of Economic Thought. (Proposals for papers or sessions on all other aspects of the history of economic thought are also welcome.)

An abstract of no more than 200 words for a paper, or no more than 500 words for a session should be submitted before December 15 2007. To submit an abstract register at the conference website ( http://www.eshet.net/conference/2008 ) and follow the instructions.
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Subjective Measures of Well-Being and the Science of Happiness: Historical origins and philosophical foundations Date: February 2-3, 2008 Website: <http://www.dpo.uab.edu/~angner/swb.html> (more…)

Here is the program of the First Annual Conference on the History of Recent Economics (21-23 June 2007, University of Paris X - Nanterre, ‘K’ Building). If you are unable to attend, you may still download the papers. Just click on the links below! (You may also visit the official conference web site) (more…)

A very interesting collection of interviews on game theory: 

Game Theory: 5 Questions, edited by Vincent F. Hendricks & Pelle Guldborg Hansen, New York / London: Automatic Press / VIP, April 2007. ISBN 8799101343 (Buy from Amazon) 

Book Description: Game Theory: 5 Questions is a collection of short interviews based on 5 questions presented to some of the most influential and prominent scholars in the field. We hear their views on game theory, its aim, scope, use, the future direction of game theory and how their work fits in these respects.

Contributors: Robert Aumann, Johan van Benthem, Cristina Bicchieri, Ken Binmore, Adam Brandenburger, Colin F.  Camerer, Alan Grafen, Peter Hammerstein, Sergiu Hart, Ehud Kalai, David M. Kreps, Herve Moulin, Rohit Parikh, Ariel Rubinstein, Larry Samuelson, Thomas C. Schelling, Brian Skyrms, Robert Sugden, H. Peyton Young. Read snippets from the interviews at www.gametheorists.com.

Pham, Michel Tuan, “Emotion and Rationality: A Critical Review and Interpretation of Empirical Evidence” . Review of General Psychology, Forthcoming Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=939394  

Abstract: The relation between emotion and rationality is assessed by reviewing empirical findings from multiple disciplines. Two types of emotional phenomena are examined — incidental emotional states and integral emotional responses — and three conceptions of rationality are considered — logical, material, and ecological. Emotional states influence reasoning processes, are often misattributed to focal objects, distort beliefs in an assimilative fashion, disrupt self-control when intensely negative but do not necessarily increase risk-taking. Integral emotional responses are often used as proxies for values, and valuations based on these responses exhibit distinct properties: efficiency, consistency, polarization, myopia, scale- insensitivity, and reference-dependence. Emotions seem to promote social and moral behavior. Conjectures about the design features of the affective system that gives rise to these seeming sources of rationality or irrationality are proposed. Therefore, any categorical statement about the overall rationality or irrationality of emotion would be misleading.
 
 
Keywords: Emotion, affect, feelings, decision-making, judgment, reason, rationality, psychology 
 
JEL Classifications: A12, A13, C70, D11, D81, D83, D71 

Deirdre McCloskey, Arjo Klamer and Stephen Ziliak are writing a textbook on economics with a completely new approach. You can join the conversation at their web site and contribute to this interesting project. To do so visit: http://www.theeconomicconversation.com/

HOLLER, MANFRED J. (2007) ”Adam Smith’s Model of Man and Some of its Consequences”, Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung Working Paper No. 150, Full Text:  http://ssrn.com/abstract=964433

ABSTRACT: This papers discusses the relationship of the model of man presented by Adam Smith in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and the assumptions about human behavior which are quintessential for his An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776/77). It is argued that Smith’s observation of a propensity to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another does not in general hold for human behavior. Moreover, there appears to be an inherent conflict with sympathy, the key concept proposed in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, if we interpret it as the source of social evaluation, self-evaluation and individual action. Following Karl Polanyi’s critical comments in The Great Transformation (1944), we will discuss some of the consequences of this incongruence for the philosophical foundations of modern economics and economic policy.

A conference to commemorate the 250th anniversary of  The Theory of Moral Sentiments (January 6-8, 2009 Balliol College, Oxford / Organised by the International Adam Smith Society and The Adam Smith Review) (more…)

Dubra, J. (2005) “Interview with Kenneth Arrow” MPRA Paper No. 967, Online at http:// mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/ 967/

In one of his recent articles, Elias Khalil critically examines Douglass North’s last book Understanding the Process of Economic Change (2005). If you have read the book check out Elias Khalil’s paper:

Khalil, E. (2006) “The Roadblock of Culturalist Economics: Economic Change ´a la Douglass North”, MPRA Paper No. 1045, Online at http:// mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/ 1045/

For those who are interested in North’s book, here are some review articles:

Will Wilkonson’s review

Stefan Voigt’s review

Stanley L. Engerman’s review

Alexander J. Field’s review

Richard N. Cooper’s review

Here is the Spring 2007 Program for Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics Seminars:  (more…)