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Showing posts with the label market

Decision Making as Output and Bounded Rationality

  The classical economics theories proceed on the assumption of rational agents. Rationality implies the economic agents undertake actions or exercise choices based on the cost-benefit analysis they undertake. The assumption further posits that there exists no information asymmetry and thus the agent is aware of all the costs and benefits associated with the choice he or she has exercised. The behavioral school contested the decision stating the decisions in practice are often irrational. Implied there is a continuous departure from rationality. Rationality in the views of the behavioral school is more an exception to the norm rather a rule. The past posts have discussed the limitations of this view by the behavioral school. Economics has often posited rationality in the context in which the choices are exercised rather than theoretical abstract view of rational action. Rational action in theory seems to be grounded in zero restraint situation yet in practice, there are numerous restra

A Note on Supply-Demand Dynamics

  Classical economics or rather its neo-classical variant posits economics revolving around the incentive mechanism. Economic agents are rational and hence their decisions revolve around the marginal cost-marginal benefit analysis. As discussed in the previous posts, economics is all about understanding actions of the agents and the implications of such actions. While economic agents might act in their self-interest, this need not align at all times with the self-interest of the group or the community they belong to. This misalignment might lead to the rise of externalities.   Yet, as agents act in their self-interest, it is important to understand the incentive mechanism at work. While people respond to incentives, they also respond to disincentives. There is definitely cost benefit analysis at work when the agents plan their action. This would be however contingent on the price they have to pay for the action. When someone over speeds or travels in the wrong lane or parks their v

Market and Non-Market Streams of Thinking: Some Thoughts

  The economic theory and thinking revolves around two poles. One is often termed the economic right borrowing from the political conservatism and secondly the economic left borrowing from those subscribing to the Marxian line of thinking and related to the political left. However, these poles are not water-tight. There is of course however wide streams of thoughts that fall in varying shades of right and left. In fact economic thinking far from being a water-tight compartment operating in silos is actually a spectrum offering shelter to varying streams of thought. These streams of thought give rise to numerous possibilities in understanding human behaviour. Moreover, these streams of thinking offer insights to the complementarities and conflicts between the various modes of thought.   Those who subscribe to the spectrum of right wing economic thinking favour the primacy of the markets in allocation of resources. Those who advocate the left stream of thinking normally favour the pr