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Showing posts with the label names and economics

Decision Making as Output and Bounded Rationality

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  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
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What's in a Name?!

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  “Whats in a name?” is usually attributed to Shakespeare. Yet in the name lies the identity of the character, identity of the place, identity of the person and more. It is for a name that agents fight. Noted economist Stephen Levitt dedicates an entire chapter on naming preferences in his best seller Freakonomics. To him Levitt, name is an aspiration and perhaps manifests a response to an incentive. Parents’ name their children after their role model, one whom they seek to emulate. The name of successful character is what is sought to be named to many a kids born in their era. Names undergo a change with passage of time. If the names denoting God and Goddess dominated the Indian landscape for many years, it is the modern trends and the names associated with these trends that dominate the current era. A part of Pakistani problem in identifying with terror is something decoded through the names the parents keep their children in that country. In fact, the naming trends indicate several
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Pakistan and Role Model Dilemma

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As one comes to terms with the horrors of the recent massacre of school children in Peshawar, What probably went unnoticed were the names of the children who either died or escaped.   Names like Osama, Dawood Ibrahim seemed common.   In a world where names are usually associated with aesthetic or even predictive powers, these names mean something. If names are meant to convey certain signals, these do certainly reflect in a way contemporary mindset of an average Pakistani.   Stephen Levitt in his bestseller, Freakonomics goes on to discuss the economics behind names. Yet, the explanation does not answer satisfactorily, the state of affairs. Incidentally, the broader theme around which Levitt’s ideas revolves around- role of incentives; might help us in some way to understand what it means.   At the heart of the society and its inhabitants is the need to achieve, urge to succeed, climb the higher layers of the power pyramid, places oneself at the apex of the profession. Yet to
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