CIAO DATE: 06/2009
April 2009
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
What alternatives to rational choice theory do exist to explain economic phenomena? I argue that American pragmatism presents a viable alternative for the explanation of key economic incidences. First I illustrate the foundations of pragmatism using three problems regularly encountered in action theory. Then I show how innovation, institutional change, price formation and actors’ preferences can be analyzed based on pragmatist premises. I conclude by reflecting on why pragmatism has found so little recognition in economics.
Resource link: Pragmatismus und wirtschaftliches Handeln [PDF] - 602K