The Moral Economy

Why Good Incentives Are No Substitute for Good Citizens

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Psychology, Occupational & Industrial Psychology, Business & Finance, Marketing & Sales, Consumer Behaviour, Applied Psychology
Cover of the book The Moral Economy by Samuel Bowles, Yale University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Samuel Bowles ISBN: 9780300221084
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: May 28, 2016
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Samuel Bowles
ISBN: 9780300221084
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: May 28, 2016
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English
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.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
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.

More books from Yale University Press

Cover of the book Ponary Diary, 1941-1943 by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book Emanuel Feuermann by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book Political Philosophy by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book Those Who Write for Immortality by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book A Reader on Reading by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book The Bagel by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book Richard III by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book Religious Pluralism in America by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book The Letters of T.S. Eliot: Volume 3: 1926-28 by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book Keeping Faith with Nature by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book The Not So Common Sense by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book The Book of Whispers by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book Clueless in Academe by Samuel Bowles
Cover of the book Menasseh ben Israel by Samuel Bowles
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy