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The Devil Is in the Details: Implications of Samuel Bowles's The Moral Economy for Economics and Policy Research

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  • Rachel Kranton

Abstract

All economists should buy and read The Moral Economy by Samuel Bowles. The book challenges basic premises of economic theory and questions policies based on monetary incentives. Incentives not only crowd out intrinsic motivations, they erode the ethical and moral codes necessary for the workings of markets. Bowles boldly suggests that successful policies must combine incentives and moral messages, exploiting complementarities between the two. This essay argues that to achieve this objective, economists must study the local institutions and social context and engage untraditional data to uncover the interplay of incentives and identity.

Suggested Citation

  • Rachel Kranton, 2019. "The Devil Is in the Details: Implications of Samuel Bowles's The Moral Economy for Economics and Policy Research," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 57(1), pages 147-160, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jeclit:v:57:y:2019:i:1:p:147-60
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/jel.20171463
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Silvia Angerer & Daniela Glätzle‐Rützler & Christian Waibel, 2021. "Monitoring institutions in healthcare markets: Experimental evidence," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 951-971, May.
    2. Alger, Ingela & Rivero-Wildemauwe, José Ignacio, 2024. "Doing the right thing (or not) in a lemons-like situation: on the role of social preferences and Kantian moral concerns," TSE Working Papers 24-1531, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    3. Simon Gächter & Esther Kaiser & Manfred Königstein, 2024. "Incentive contracts crowd out voluntary cooperation: Evidence from gift-exchange experiments," Discussion Papers 2024-02, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    4. Eva Forslund & Magnus Henrekson, 2022. "The Virtues of Native Discourse: Striking a Balance Between English and the Native Language," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 19(2), pages 258–282-2, September.
    5. Rehse, Dominik & Tremöhlen, Felix, 2022. "Fostering participation in digital contact tracing," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    6. John Gibson, 2021. "The micro‐geography of academic research: How distinctive is economics?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(4), pages 467-484, September.
    7. Dold, Malte & Lewis, Paul, 2022. "F.A. Hayek on the political economy of endogenous preferences: An historical overview and contemporary assessment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 104-119.
    8. Athias, Laure, 2024. "Common Good Institutions, Identity in the Workplace, and Value Dynamics," MPRA Paper 120588, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Patacchini, Eleonora & Barrett, Christopher & , & Walker, Thomas, 2019. "Altruism, Insurance, And Costly Solidarity Commitments1," CEPR Discussion Papers 14148, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Rehse, Dominik & Tremöhlen, Felix, 2020. "Fostering participation in digital public health interventions: The case of digital contact tracing," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-076, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    11. Niklas Elert & Magnus Henrekson, 2019. "The collaborative innovation bloc: A reply to our commentators," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 32(4), pages 349-361, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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