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The Role of Values in Rational Choice Theory

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  • MICHAEL HECHTER

    (University of Arizona)

Abstract

Most empirical applications of rational choice employ a typical value assumption—that actors are motivated to pursue private and instrumental goods. When is this typical value assumption warranted, and when is it not? This article proposes guidelines for thinking about the use of value assumptions in rational choice theory. When instrumental and immanent values are substitutable, use of the typical value assumption is justifiable. However, in cases where there is imperfect substitutability—in which actors face production constraints, significant role conflict, or in which immanent values are nonrandomly distributed—the typical value assumption should be reexamined.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Hechter, 1994. "The Role of Values in Rational Choice Theory," Rationality and Society, , vol. 6(3), pages 318-333, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:6:y:1994:i:3:p:318-333
    DOI: 10.1177/1043463194006003003
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    3. Hechter, Michael, 2008. "The rise and fall of normative control," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 663-676, August.
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    5. Eric H. Rambo, 1999. "Symbolic Interests And Meaningful Purposes," Rationality and Society, , vol. 11(3), pages 317-342, August.
    6. Dewey, Matías, 2014. "Crisis and the emergence of illicit markets: A pragmatist view on economic action outside the law," MPIfG Discussion Paper 14/6, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    7. Eric Mayor & Maxime Daehne & Renzo Bianchi, 2019. "How perceived substance characteristics affect ethical judgement towards cognitive enhancement," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(3), pages 1-10, March.
    8. Anne Gauthier, 2007. "The impact of family policies on fertility in industrialized countries: a review of the literature," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 26(3), pages 323-346, June.
    9. Kanazawa, Satoshi & Savage, Joanne, 2009. "An evolutionary psychological perspective on social capital," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 873-883, December.
    10. Rudra Sil, 2000. "The Foundations of Eclecticism," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 12(3), pages 353-387, July.
    11. John Allen Logan, 1996. "Rational Choice And The Tsl Model Of Occupational Opportunity," Rationality and Society, , vol. 8(2), pages 207-230, May.
    12. Mads Meier Jæger, 2007. "Economic and Social Returns To Educational Choices," Rationality and Society, , vol. 19(4), pages 451-483, November.
    13. Walter Korpi, 2001. "Contentious Institutions," Rationality and Society, , vol. 13(2), pages 235-283, May.
    14. Korpi, Walter, 2000. "Contentious Institutions: An Augmented Rational-Actor Analysis of the Origins and Path Dependency of Welfare State Institutions in the Western Countries," Working Paper Series 4/2000, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    15. Nuno Garoupa, 1997. "The role of moral values in the economic analysis of crime: A general equilibrium approach," Economics Working Papers 245, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    16. David Lipka, 2014. "Do economists need virtues?," ICER Working Papers 06-2014, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.

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