2009-11-07 papers

on Neuroeconomics

Issue of 2009‒11‒07
two papers chosen by

Procedural Rationality and Happiness By Novarese, Marco; Castellani, Marco; Di Giovinazzo, Viviana
On a dubious theory of cross-country differences in intelligence By Kevin Denny

By:	Novarese, Marco; Castellani, Marco; Di Giovinazzo, Viviana
Abstract:	The Economics of Happiness already recognizes how procedures affect the evaluation of outcomes, although this has only been looked at within the standard framework of substantial rationality. This paper aims to go beyond that kind of approach by linking happiness and procedural rationality, focusing on ‘happiness for choice’ (the individual’s perceived satisfaction after the decision making process). Simon’s model shows the need for defining aspirations whose values are adapted to the past experience in a given environment. Some remarks proposed by Scitovsky’s allow to extend this idea considering the role of creative representation of the world as a way for trying to go beyond the past. These ideas are tested using data on aspirations and satisfaction expressed by students attending an economic course.
Keywords:	Procedural rationality; satisfaction; students; happiness; aspirations
JEL:	D83
Date:	2009–10–31
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:18290&r=neu

On a dubious theory of cross-country differences in intelligence

By:	Kevin Denny (School of Economics and Geary Institute University College Dublin)
Abstract:	Kanazawa (2007) offers an explanation for the variation across countries of average intelligence. It is based on the idea human intelligence is a domain specific adaptation and that both temperature and the distance from some putative point of origin are proxies for the degree of novelty that humans in a country have experienced. However the argument ignores many other considerations and is a priori weak and the data used questionable. A particular problem is that in calculating distances between countries it implicitly assumes that the earth is flat. This makes all the estimates biased and unreliable.
Keywords:	intelligence, measurement error, international comparisons
Date:	2009–10–22
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:200931&r=neu

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