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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior
This book explains why moral beliefs can and likely do play an important role in the development and operation of market economies. It provides new arguments for why it is important that people genuinely trust others-even those whom they know don't particularly care about them-because in key circumstances institutions are incapable of combating opportunism. It then identifies specific characteristics that moral beliefs must have for the people who possess them to be regarded as trustworthy. When such moral beliefs are held with sufficient conviction by a sufficiently high proportion of the population, a high trust society emerges that supports maximum cooperation and creativity while permitting honest competition at the same time. Such moral beliefs are not tied to any particular religion and have nothing to do with moral earnestness or the set of moral values-what matters is how they affect the way people think about morality. Such moral beliefs are based on abstract ideas that must be learned so they are matters of culture, not genes, and are therefore able to explain differences in economic performance across societies.
Book Details
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publish Date: Feb 12nd, 2014
- Pages: 288
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 9.21in - 6.33in - 0.60in - 0.95lb
- EAN: 9780199360598
- Categories: • Business Ethics• Ethics & Moral Philosophy• Economics - Theory
About the Author
David C. Rose is Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He received his Ph.D. in Economics in 1987 from the University of Virginia. He has published scholarly articles on a wide range of topics in micro and macroeconomics. He frequently contributes to policy debates through radio and television interviews and Op-Eds.
Praise for this book
"Rose appears to regard himself as addressing only economists and other social scientists...But the structure of his argument, along with much of his rhetoric and many of his emphases, reveal that he is pursuing a genealogical approach to morality, and it is under that description that philosophers can most easily appreciate the argument's value."--Journal of Moral Philosophy
"This is a very interesting and timely argument....the message is important and sobering."--The Enlightened Economist blog"Following in the tradition of Adam Smith, David Rose provides a modern economic perspective on how 'the wealth of nations' depends on 'a theory of moral sentiments.' This book provides such a theory and explains why all societies attempt to inculcate moral restraints on homo economicus. After reading it you have new insights into how and why morality is so important to economic prosperity."--Terry L. Anderson, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University and Executive Director, Property and Environment Research Center"As members of the American body politic, we are failing to transmit intergenerational elements of our cultural heritage without which a free and prosperous society cannot exist. This book brings attention to the moral bases for the civic order that we too often take for granted. Only if we first understand what is happening can the erosion of our moral capital be turned around."--James M. Buchanan, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1986"How did we move from the hunter-gatherer societies of our forbearers to the complex globally-interconnected world of today? How does one maintain prosperity when localized knowledge and large numbers of market participants make 'golden opportunities' for undetected opportunistic behavior ever more possible? What sets of moral beliefs are most conducive to maximizing general prosperity, and how are they inculcated? Drawing on, but also going beyond, the ideas of such thinkers as the Smiths (both Adam and Vernon), Douglass North, F. A. Hayek, and others, as well as his own fertile mind, David Rose provides the answers to these and other questions in a book that explores the interstices of economics, cultural studies, and applied moral theory. It is a compelling account."--Bruce Caldwell, Duke University"Modern economics is returning to its moral philosophy roots; David Rose's The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior moves that process along by reconsidering the role of trust and culture in the economy. His approach is unique, insightful, and definitely worth reading."--David Colander, Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Economics, Middlebury CollegeSelected one of CHOICE's "Outstanding Academic Title of 2012""Economists and scholars in other fields working on culture, trust, and economic development should consider this book. Experimental economists working on trust and trustworthiness who want more insight into these behaviors should, too. Each chapter builds on the previous ones, taking the reader through organized and pointed discussions in building a case for the primacy of duty-based moral restraint to trust to economic prosperity." --The Journal of Economic Literature"The book is an extended thought experiment launched by this question: 'If a society's sole objective is to maximize general prosperity and it can choose its own moral beliefs, what kinds of moral beliefs would it choose?' (p. 4, emphasis in original). The author proposes a sophisticated, novel, and compelling answer to this question. It therefore deserves to be read by anyone with an interest in how to promote human prosperity." --James R. Otteson, Yeshiva University, The Independent Review"[The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior] is so provocative, so carefully constructed, and so potentially pathbreaking, especially for a first book, that it seems to have sprung fully formed like Athena from Zeus's head. Rose's book is full of intriguing insights and provocative discussions. The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior is an impressive achievement. It deserves a wide audience. If it gets one, it will inaugurate new and better investigation into the deep connections between morality and prosperity."--EH.Net
"This is a very interesting and timely argument....the message is important and sobering."--The Enlightened Economist blog"Following in the tradition of Adam Smith, David Rose provides a modern economic perspective on how 'the wealth of nations' depends on 'a theory of moral sentiments.' This book provides such a theory and explains why all societies attempt to inculcate moral restraints on homo economicus. After reading it you have new insights into how and why morality is so important to economic prosperity."--Terry L. Anderson, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University and Executive Director, Property and Environment Research Center"As members of the American body politic, we are failing to transmit intergenerational elements of our cultural heritage without which a free and prosperous society cannot exist. This book brings attention to the moral bases for the civic order that we too often take for granted. Only if we first understand what is happening can the erosion of our moral capital be turned around."--James M. Buchanan, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1986"How did we move from the hunter-gatherer societies of our forbearers to the complex globally-interconnected world of today? How does one maintain prosperity when localized knowledge and large numbers of market participants make 'golden opportunities' for undetected opportunistic behavior ever more possible? What sets of moral beliefs are most conducive to maximizing general prosperity, and how are they inculcated? Drawing on, but also going beyond, the ideas of such thinkers as the Smiths (both Adam and Vernon), Douglass North, F. A. Hayek, and others, as well as his own fertile mind, David Rose provides the answers to these and other questions in a book that explores the interstices of economics, cultural studies, and applied moral theory. It is a compelling account."--Bruce Caldwell, Duke University"Modern economics is returning to its moral philosophy roots; David Rose's The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior moves that process along by reconsidering the role of trust and culture in the economy. His approach is unique, insightful, and definitely worth reading."--David Colander, Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Economics, Middlebury CollegeSelected one of CHOICE's "Outstanding Academic Title of 2012""Economists and scholars in other fields working on culture, trust, and economic development should consider this book. Experimental economists working on trust and trustworthiness who want more insight into these behaviors should, too. Each chapter builds on the previous ones, taking the reader through organized and pointed discussions in building a case for the primacy of duty-based moral restraint to trust to economic prosperity." --The Journal of Economic Literature"The book is an extended thought experiment launched by this question: 'If a society's sole objective is to maximize general prosperity and it can choose its own moral beliefs, what kinds of moral beliefs would it choose?' (p. 4, emphasis in original). The author proposes a sophisticated, novel, and compelling answer to this question. It therefore deserves to be read by anyone with an interest in how to promote human prosperity." --James R. Otteson, Yeshiva University, The Independent Review"[The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior] is so provocative, so carefully constructed, and so potentially pathbreaking, especially for a first book, that it seems to have sprung fully formed like Athena from Zeus's head. Rose's book is full of intriguing insights and provocative discussions. The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior is an impressive achievement. It deserves a wide audience. If it gets one, it will inaugurate new and better investigation into the deep connections between morality and prosperity."--EH.Net
