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Intrinsic motivation in economics: A history

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  • Romaniuc, Rustam

Abstract

If one asks about the introduction of intrinsic motivation into economic analysis, a common response is The Joyless Economy (Scitovsky, 1976) and Frey's articles published in the early 1990s. These works are furthermore seen as the direct sequel to the contributions in psychology which sought to uncover the sources of motivation long before the economists started to think seriously about their economic implications. By adopting a historical perspective, I show that Scitovsky and Frey's works were rather the result of two specific episodes in economics: the revived interest in actual needs and desires for the first and the expansionist ambitions of economists for the second. The behaviors they considered and the interpretations they respectively proposed for intrinsic motivation illustrate the influence of these two episodes. As such, this article proposes a new perspective on the relationship between economics and psychology.

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  • Romaniuc, Rustam, 2017. "Intrinsic motivation in economics: A history," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 56-64.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:67:y:2017:i:c:p:56-64
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2016.10.002
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    2. Lohmann, Julia & Muula, Adamson S. & Houlfort, Nathalie & De Allegri, Manuela, 2018. "How does performance-based financing affect health workers' intrinsic motivation? A Self-Determination Theory-based mixed-methods study in Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 1-8.
    3. Alexander Kalgin & Olga Kalgina & Anna Lebedeva, 2019. "Publication Metrics as a Tool for Measuring Research Productivity and Their Relation to Motivation," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 1, pages 44-86.
    4. Калгин А. С. & Калгина О. В. & Лебедева А. А., 2019. "Оценка Публикационной Активности Как Способ Измерения Результативности Труда Ученых И Ее Связь С Мотивацией," Вопросы образования // Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 1, pages 44-86.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intrinsic motivation; Self-interest; Public interest; Tibor Scitovsky; Bruno Frey;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • B21 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Microeconomics
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers

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