Identity economics : how our identities shape our work, wages, and well-being / George A. Akerlof and Rachel E. Kranton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Akerlof, George A., 1940-

Contributor:

Kranton, Rachel E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economics--Psychological aspects.

Economics.

Identity (Psychology).

Economics--Sociological aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (192 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Identity Economics provides an important and compelling new way to understand human behavior, revealing how our identities--and not just economic incentives--influence our decisions. In 1995, economist Rachel Kranton wrote future Nobel Prize-winner George Akerlof a letter insisting that his most recent paper was wrong. Identity, she argued, was the missing element that would help to explain why people--facing the same economic circumstances--would make different choices. This was the beginning of a fourteen-year collaboration--and of Identity Economics. The authors explain how our conception of who we are and who we want to be may shape our economic lives more than any other factor, affecting how hard we work, and how we learn, spend, and save. Identity economics is a new way to understand people's decisions--at work, at school, and at home. With it, we can better appreciate why incentives like stock options work or don't; why some schools succeed and others don't; why some cities and towns don't invest in their futures--and much, much more. Identity Economics bridges a critical gap in the social sciences. It brings identity and norms to economics. People's notions of what is proper, and what is forbidden, and for whom, are fundamental to how hard they work, and how they learn, spend, and save. Thus people's identity--their conception of who they are, and of who they choose to be--may be the most important factor affecting their economic lives. And the limits placed by society on people's identity can also be crucial determinants of their economic well-being.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Part One: Economics and Identity

ONE. Introduction

TWO. Identity Economics

THREE. Identity and Norms in Utility

POSTSCRIPT TO CHAPTER THREE. A Rosetta Stone

FOUR. Where We Fit into Today's Economics

Part Two: Work and School

FIVE. Identity and the Economics of Organizations

SIX. Identity and the Economics of Education

Part Three: Gender and Race

SEVEN. Gender and Work

EIGHT. Race and Minority Poverty

Part Four: Looking Ahead

NINE. Identity Economics and Economic Methodology

TEN. Conclusion, and Five Ways Identity Changes Economics

Acknowledgments

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612531477

9781282531475

1282531476

9781400834181

140083418X

OCLC:

593342067