In this novel introduction to modern microeconomic theory, Samuel Bowles returns to the
classical economists' interest in the wealth and poverty of nations and people, the
workings of the institutions of capitalist economies, and the coevolution of individual
preferences and the structures of markets, firms, and other institutions. Using recent
advances in evolutionary game theory, contract theory, behavioral experiments, and the
modeling of dynamic processes, he develops a theory of how economic institutions shape
individual behavior, and how institutions evolve due to individual actions, technological
change, and chance events. Topics addressed include institutional innovation, social
preferences, nonmarket social interactions, social capital, equilibrium unemployment,
credit constraints, economic power, generalized increasing returns, disequilibrium
outcomes, and path dependency.
Each chapter is introduced by empirical puzzles or historical episodes illuminated by
the modeling that follows, and the book closes with sets of problems to be solved by
readers seeking to improve their mathematical modeling skills. Complementing standard
mathematical analysis are agent-based computer simulations of complex evolving systems
that are available online so that readers can experiment with the models. Bowles concludes
with the time-honored challenge of "getting the rules right," providing an
evaluation of markets, states, and communities as contrasting and yet sometimes
synergistic structures of governance. Must reading for students and scholars not only in
economics but across the behavioral sciences, this engagingly written and compelling
exposition of the new microeconomics moves the field beyond the conventional models of
prices and markets toward a more accurate and policy-relevant portrayal of human social
behavior.
Samuel Bowles is Research Professor and Director of the Behavioral Sciences
Program at the Santa Fe Institute and Professor of Economics at the University of Siena.
He is coauthor of Notes and Problems in Microeconomic Theory (North Holland Texts
in Mathematical Economics) and Schooling in Capitalist America (Basic Books), and
has published articles, most recently, in the American Economic Review, Nature, the
Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Economic Journal, and the Journal of
Theoretical Biology.
Reviews:
"There must be dozens of introductory books with the word 'microeconomics' in the
title, but for ambition alone Samuel Bowles's volume stands out. Not only does Bowles
convey the elements of the conventional theory of capitalist economics--he offers a wealth
of cutting-edge material as well . . . . [His] theory is neat, thought-provoking, and
highly original--as is much else in this most unusual take on microeconomics."--Eric
Maskin, Science
"There must be dozens of introductory books with the word "microeconomics' in
the title, but for ambition alone Samuel Bowles's volume stands out. Not only does Bowles
convey the elements of the conventional theory of capitalist economics . . . he offers a
wealth of cutting-edge material as well. . . . [His] theory is neat, thought-provoking,
and highly original--as is much else in this most unusual take on
microeconomics."--Eric Maskin, Science
Endorsements:
"Sam Bowles reminds the student from the first page to the last that microeconomic
theory is an attempt to understand economic institutions in order to inspire us to improve
the world. This book may be a turning point in bringing economics back to its real
political economic roots."--Ariel Rubinstein, Tel Aviv University and Princeton
University
"The standard neoclassical competitive model of economic behavior has been
significantly extended in the last fifty years by emphasis on interaction among small
groups (game theory), on extended models of human motivation based in part on human
evolution, and on divergent information bases of participants. A rich but scattered
literature has now received a brilliant synthesis and development in Samuel Bowles's new
book. Microeconomics will be an indispensable part of future teaching in
microeconomics at the graduate or advanced undergraduate levels, as well as an excellent
source of information for the practicing economist."--Kenneth J. Arrow
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface ix
Prologue: Economics and the Wealth of Nations and People 1
Part I: Coordination and Conflict: Generic Social Interactions 21
Chapter One: Social Interactions and Institutional Design 23
Chapter Two: Spontaneous Order: The Self-organization of Economic Life 56
Chapter Three: Preferences and Behavior 93
Chapter Four: Coordination Failures and Institutional Responses 127
Chapter Five: Dividing the Gains to Cooperation: Bargaining and Rent Seeking 167
Part II : Competition and Cooperation: The Institutions of Capitalism 203
Chapter Six: Utopian Capitalism: Decentralized Coordination 205
Chapter Seven: Exchange: Contracts, Norms, and Power 233
Chapter Eight: Employment, Unemployment, and Wages 267
Chapter Nine: Credit Markets, Wealth Constraints, and Allocative Inefficiency 299
Chapter Ten: The Institutions of a Capitalist Economy 331
Part III: Change: The Coevolution of Institutions and Preferences 363
Chapter Eleven: Institutional and Individual Evolution 365
Chapter Twelve: Chance, Collective Action, and Institutional Innovation 402
Chapter Thirteen: The Coevolution of Institutions and Preferences 437
Part IV: Conclusion 471
Chapter Fourteen: Economic Governance: Markets, States, and Communities 473
Problem Sets 502
Additional Readings 529
Works Cited 537
Index 571
560 pp. | 6 x 9 | 69 line illus. 40 tables.