| Abstract: |
To assess whether and when the equation "economic growth = better life" holds,
it is necessary to understand what human motivations drive the economic growth
process. The preference subjectivism of canonical welfare economics is of
little help here as it treats the motivations underlying individual behavior
as an unexplained "black box". The present paper therefore reviews several
motivational hypotheses suggested by biology, behavioral science, and
cognitive psychology. They point to a strong influence of cognitive and
noncognitive learning processes on the underlying motivations or, in economic
terminology, the emergence and change of individual preferences. As a
consequence, subjective welfare assessments tend to follow a drift process
once a certain level of prosperity has been accomplished by economic growth.
The normative relevance of the resulting preference relativism is argued to be
particularly momentous, if the value basis of normative judgments is extended
beyond the welfare criterion to justice and fairness considerations. |