The moral economy : why good incentives are no substitute for good citizens / Samuel Bowles.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bowles, Samuel, author.

Series:

Castle lectures in ethics, politics, and economics

The castle lectures in ethics, politics, and economics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economics--Moral and ethical aspects.

Economics.

Law and economics.

Physical Description:

xvi, 272 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.

Other Title:

Why good incentives are no substitute for good citizens

Place of Publication:

New Haven ; London : Yale University Press [2016]

Summary:

Should the idea of economic man-the amoral and self-interested Homo economicus-determine how we expect people to respond to monetary rewards, punishments, and other incentives? Samuel Bowles answers with a resounding "no." Policies that follow from this paradigm, he shows, may "crowd out" ethical and generous motives and thus backfire. But incentives per se are not really the culprit. Bowles shows that crowding out occurs when the message conveyed by fines and rewards is that self-interest is expected, that the employer thinks the workforce is lazy, or that the citizen cannot otherwise be trusted to contribute to the public good. Using historical and recent case studies as well as behavioral experiments, Bowles shows how well-designed incentives can crowd in the civic motives on which good governance depends.

Contents:

The problem with homo economicus

A constitution for knaves

Moral sentiments and material interests

Incentives as information

A liberal civic culture

The legislator's dilemma

A mandate for Aristotle's legislator.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-266) and index.

ISBN:

9780300163803

0300163800

OCLC:

930798081