nep-evo 2018-10-01 papers

on Evolutionary Economics

Issue of 2018‒10‒01
two papers chosen by
Matthew Baker
City University of New York

The Behavioral Economics of John Maynard Keynes

By:	Ronald Schettkat
Abstract:	After the publication of Keynes’ “General Theory,” economics was frequently described as schizophrenia: (neo-) classical at the micro-level, but Keynesian at the macro-level. In actuality, Keynes’ revolution was, to a substantial part, based on the behavioral micro-foundations of the world we live in, which has been dismissed as ad hocery, or simply ignored or reclassified in the neoclassical synthesis. Keynes’ General Theory is truly general. It includes the full-employment equilibrium as a special case. In addition, its microeconomic foundations are broader than the extremely narrow behavioral assumption of the neoclassical model. Consequently, we argue that Keynes’ microeconomics – although not fully worked out - is actually revolutionary. This may be difficult for (neo-) classical economists to accept, but it is strongly confirmed by the recent results in behavioral economics. Keynes’ macroeconomics is the result of his microeconomics. Keynes’ theory is a criticism of (neo-) classical economics, where he offers alternatives from micro to macro. It is truly a general theory, micro and macro.
Date:	2018–09
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwu:schdps:sdp18007&r=evo

The cultural origin of saving behavior

By:	Costa-Font, Joan; Giuliano, Paola; Özcan, Berkay
Abstract:	Traditional economic interpretations have not been successful in explaining differences in saving rates across countries. One hypothesis is that savings respond to cultural specific social norms. The accepted view in economics so far is that culture does not have any effect on savings. We revisit this evidence using a novel dataset, which allows us to study the saving behavior of up to three generations of immigrants in the United Kingdom. Against the backdrop of existing evidence, we find that cultural preferences are an important explanation for cross-country differences in saving behavior, and their relevance persists up to three generations.
JEL:	N0
Date:	2018–09–12
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:90225&r=evo

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