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Showing posts with the label overcrowding

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

Schelling's Equilibrium

Economics text books describe equilibrium as intersection of demand and supply curves. In a market economy analysis, a shortage of goods (demand > supply), the prices will rise incentivising more number of producers to enter into the market. The increased supply of goods accompanied by a drop in quantity demanded following a rise in price will restore the balance in the market. Similarly, a scenario of surplus (supply > demand) causes a drop in prices. The drop results in increase in quantity demanded yet at the same time disincentivizes production causing a fall in quantity supplied till the market is restored back to equilibrium. Yet the concept is quite non-intuitive. It seems it is more of text book idealism than something that can be observed in practice.   Equilibrium as a concept takes its roots in biology and physics rather than economics. In natural and pure sciences, equilibrium is described as a situation in which some motion or activity or adjustment or respons