Economics, Values, and Organization

A new and unique collection of essays on the relationship between economic institutions and values, this book's original premise is that the way an economy and society are organized is determined in part by the preferences we call "values." This book challenges economists and scholars in related fields to explore the two-way interaction between economic arrangements and values. Contributors include leading scholars from such diverse fields as game theory and economic history, as well as political philosophy, sociology and psychology. Designed for a wide readership, the book has no existing counterparts.

Advance praise for Economics, Values, and Organization

"The contributors to this book have both guts and brains. They are tackling deep issues that most of us just wave at. No reflective reader will want to miss this."

- Robert M. Solow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"Economists have the right methodology, but sociologists have the right variables, or so it is sometimes said. In recent years, this mismatch has begun to be corrected, as rigorous, interdisciplinary work has begun on the connection between values, institutions, and economics. This important collective volume, edited by Ben-Ner and Putterman, harvests some of the first fruits of this new work. It should be of wide interest throughout the social sciences."

- Robert Putnam, Harvard University

"This is an extremely valuable collection on the 'hottest' topic in economic theory: how values shape institutions and institutions shape values. This is probably the single most important question that economists have left unanswered --until now!

- George Akerlof, University of California at Berkeley and The Brookings Institution

"Only by linking the formation of habits, norms, and values to objective circumstances, within an evolutionary framework, will it prove possible significantly to advance understanding of important classes of economic and social behavior and of the effects of public policies designed to influence those behaviors. This stylistically varied collection of essays from several disciplines constitutes a major advance in implementing that agenda. After reading the fascinating insights these essays contain and considering the challenging research program they suggest, one cannot help asking: why has it taken us so long?

- Henry Aaron The Brookings Institution