PAUL J.ZAK – MORAL MARKETS

Modern economic life is driven by selfishness and relentless competition. Is it? The evidence comes from neuroscience, social science, biology, law, and philosophy. Markets that are moral. The case is made that modern market exchange only works if most people act in a certain way. Competition and greed are part of economics. Markets that are moral. The rules of market exchange have evolved to promote moral behavior. Examining the biological basis of economic morality, tracing the connections between morality and markets, and exploring the profound implications of both. Markets that are moral. There is a new view of economics that connects the field to Adam Smith’s belief that morality has a biological basis. Markets that are moral. The result of an extensive collaboration between leading social and natural scientists includes contributions by Paul Zak, Robert H. Frank, Herbert Gintis, Vernon Smith, and Bart Wilson.

Reviews:

That’s right. Markets that are moral. There are 15 chapters contributed by a team researching the nature of values in economic thinking. Zak compiled what may become a starting point for further work on this topic, given the volume’s scope and creative insights. Evolutionary processes that form values like fairness and reciprocity are the focus of the readings. The collection helps to reconsider the value-free claims of economics. J. Halteman is a professor at Wheaton College. choice

The span of the book is huge, taking in cooperation among chimpanzees, the status of moral emotions, and the role of contract law in encouraging trustworthy behaviour, as well as areas more familiar to economists such as the effect of incentive schemes on employee effort. Markets that are moral. The book addresses important and under-researched questions. Joe Perkins. World economics.

That’s right. Markets that are moral. It is a fascinating indicator of trends in thinking about markets. This should be part of any senior manager’s strategic thinking. This is an attractive addition to the economics and business ethics shelves of any academic library. Stuart Hannabuss. The library has a review.

That’s right. Markets that are moral. It is challenging because it brings to bear a wide variety of scientific fields of inquiry but also because it is willing to buck widely held assumptions about markets and what human nature really is. By drawing the best available science, it manages to offer both a sense of objectivity and hope that we are not as nasty and brutish as we sometimes seem. The person is Ray Bert. Civil engineering.

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Paul J.Zak is the author of Moral Markets.