(Alternative Paradigms - Spring 1997)
Prerequisites: Econ 251
Requirements: 3 short (3-4 page) papers, one final 15 page paper, regular attendance, and participation in class discussions. (Note that these updated requirements are slightly different from the course catalog).
Enrollment limited to 20.
How do the other social sciences view economic behavior? For instance, most human beings exchange gifts. Some neo-classical economists have seen this as an essentially irrational act which adversely affects economic efficiency. Anthropologists however have developed elaborate theories of gift exchange which view gifts as a way in which relationships within a community are preserved, and as an expression of status competition. Another example: Why does crime exist? Economists would argue that criminal activity is influenced by rational decisions where the prospective criminal weighs the costs and benefits of breaking the law. Thus, crime exists in part because the benefits of crime outweigh the costs. Sociologists, however, may argue otherwise, saying that every functioning society defines certain activities as "criminal" in order to construct "normal" behavior and thus permit a social order to be defined.
Thus, neo-classical economic theories are often at variance with the other social sciences, even when they study the same phenomena. This course will look at a variety of subjects and see how economists have studied them, and then contrast the economic perspective with points of view from sociology and anthropology. We will also try to examine to what extent economists have tried to incorporate ideas from the other social sciences, and whether there is room for more inter-disciplinary collaboration. Topics that we will study will include, Gift-Exchange, Crime, Money, Marriage, Ethnicity, Addiction, and Violence.
If you have any questions about the course send me email.