This book presents institutional evolution and individual choice as codependent results of behavioral patterns. Drawing on F.A. Hayek's concepts of cognition and cultural evolution, Teraji demonstrates how the relationship between the sensory and social orders can allow economists to track social norms and their effects on the global economy. He redirects attention from the conventional focus on what an individual chooses to the changing social order that determines how an individual chooses. Cultural shifts provide the environmental feedback that challenges the mental models governing individual choice, creating a cycle of coevolution. Teraji develops a general framework from which to examine this symbiotic relationship in order to identify predictive patterns. Not just for behavioral economists, this book will also appeal to those who specialize in institutional economics, the philosophy of economics, and economic sociology.
1. Foundations Appendix A Hyperbolic discounting Appendix B Herd behavior and the quality of opinions 2. Why Do People Obey Norms? Appendix C Morale and the evolution of norms Appendix D A theory of norm compliance: Punishment and reputation Appendix E A model of corporate social performance: Social satisfaction and moral conduct 3. The Sensory Order Revisited 4. Norms, Coordination, and Order5. Culture and cultural evolution Appendix F Identity in utility Appendix G Culture, effort variability, and hierarchy Appendix H Property rights, trust, and economic performance Appendix I The economics of possible selves Appendix J An economic analysis of social exclusion and inequality 6. Co-evolution of Mind and Society7. Epilogue