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Bread and Bullet

Author

Listed:
  • Akerlof, George
  • Snower, Dennis

Abstract

Standard economics omits the role of narratives (the stories that people tell themselves and others) when they make all kinds of decisions. Narratives play a role in understanding the environment; focusing attention; predicting events; motivating action; assigning social roles and identities; defining power relations; and establishing and conveying social norms. This paper describes the role narratives play in decision making, as it also juxtaposes this description against the backdrop of the Bolshevik-spawned narrative that played a critical role in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union in the 20th Century.

Suggested Citation

  • Akerlof, George & Snower, Dennis, 2016. "Bread and Bullet," CEPR Discussion Papers 11132, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11132
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. George A. Akerlof & Rachel E. Kranton, 2000. "Economics and Identity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 715-753.
    2. Akerlof George A & Kranton Rachel, 2010. "Identity Economics," The Economists' Voice, De Gruyter, vol. 7(2), pages 1-3, June.
    3. Richard E. Ericson, 1991. "The Classical Soviet-Type Economy: Nature of the System and Implications for Reform," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 11-27, Fall.
    4. Ernst Fehr & Urs Fischbacher, 2004. "Social norms and human cooperation," Macroeconomics 0409026, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Joseph R. Priester & Richard E. Petty & Kiwan Park, 2007. "Whence Univalent Ambivalence? From the Anticipation of Conflicting Reactions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(1), pages 11-21, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Levi, Eugenio & Bayerlein, Michael & Grimalda, Gianluca & Reggiani, Tommaso G., 2025. "Narratives of Migration and Political Polarization: Private Preferences, Public Preferences and Social Media," IZA Discussion Papers 17749, IZA Network @ LISER.
    2. Marina Della Giusta & Sarah Jewell & Danica Vukadinovic Greetham, 2017. "Beliefs, Exams and Social Media: A Study of Girls and Boys in the UK," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2017-02, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    3. Diane Coyle, 2016. "The Political Economy of National Statistics," Economics Discussion Paper Series 1603, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    4. Dohse, Dirk & Lim, Cheng Yee, 2016. "Macro-geographic location and internet adoption in poor countries: What is behind the persistent digital gap?," Kiel Working Papers 2067, Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
    5. Dorian Jullien, 2018. "Under Risk, Over Time, Regarding Other People: Language and Rationality within Three Dimensions," Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology, in: Including a Symposium on Latin American Monetary Thought: Two Centuries in Search of Originality, volume 36, pages 119-155, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    6. Peter Andre & Ingar Haaland & Christopher Roth & Mirko Wiederholt & Johannes Wohlfart, 2021. "Narratives about the Macroeconomy," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 127, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    7. Athias, Laure, 2024. "Common Good Institutions, Identity in the Workplace, and Value Dynamics," MPRA Paper 120588, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Roman Frydman & Soren Johansen & Anders Rahbek & Morten Nyboe Tabor, 2021. "Asset Prices Under Knightian Uncertainty," Working Papers Series inetwp172, Institute for New Economic Thinking.
    9. Ingar Haaland & Christopher Roth & Stefanie Stantcheva & Johannes Wohlfart, 2024. "Measuring What Is Top of Mind," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 298, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    10. Marcello D'Amato & Francesco Flaviano Russo, 2025. "Brave Old World: On the Historical Roots of Interstate Conflicts," CSEF Working Papers 749, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    11. Adrian Hillenbrand & Eugenio Verrina, 2018. "The differential effect of narratives prosocial behavior," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics 2018_16, Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics, revised Jun 2020.

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    Keywords

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    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
    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • D20 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - General
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions

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