A Nomos Approach to Social Change: Where Human Action meets Cultural Theory

Anthony J. Evans

doi:10.62374/3d7g1z98

Authors

Anthony J. Evans ESCP Europe Business School

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62374/3d7g1z98

Keywords:

social change, epistemic choice, rule-based theory, symbolic meanings, heterogeneous agents

Abstract

This article outlines an approach to social change that bridges epistemic choice with cultural institutions. It integrates recent incorporations of cognition and belief systems into economics, (North, 2005), with “Cultural Theory” to present specific ideal type strategies of action. The conflict between these cultural biases and actual events provides a mechanism for social change (“surprise”), and this is discussed in contrast to Bayesian updating. Recent empirical papers are discussed in light of the above (particularly in the fields of economic development, theories of the firm, and capital theory).

References

Adams, J. (1995). Risk. Routledge Press.

Agassi, J. (1960). Methodological Individualism. The British Journal of Sociology, 11(3), 244-720. https://doi.org/10.2307/586749

Agassi, J. (1975). Institutional Individualism. The British Journal of Sociology, 26(2), 144-155. https://doi.org/10.2307/589585

Aligica, P. D. (2003). Operational codes, institutional learning and the optimistic model of post-Communist social change. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 36, 87-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-067X(02)00054-5

Aligica, P. D., & Evans, A. J. (2009). Thought Experiments, Counterfactuals and Comparative Analysis: Methodological Challenges in the Austrian Tradition. Review of Austrian Economics, 22(3), 225-239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11138-009-0082-8

Axelrod, R. (1976). The cognitive mapping approach to decision making. In R. Axelrod (Ed.), Structure of Decision: The Cognitive Maps of Political Elites. Princeton University Press, pp. 3-18. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400871957-004

Banfield, E. (1958). Moral Basis of a Backward Society. New York: Free Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/2550413

Bates, R. H., Greif, A., Levi, M., Rosenthal, J.-L., & Weingast, B. (1998). Analytic Narratives. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691216232

Bauer, P. (2000). From Subsistence to Exchange. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400824649-003

Berlin, I. (1953). The Hedgehog and the Fox. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Boettke, P. J. (1992). Vision and Analysis in Economic Discourse. Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 14(1), 84-95. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1053837200004417

Boettke, P. J. (1993). Why Perestroika Failed: The Politics and Economics of Socialist Transformation. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203419472

Boettke, P. J. (1996). Why Culture Matters: Economics, Politics, and the Imprint of History. Nuova Economia e Storia, 3, 189-214.

Boettke, P. J., Coyne, C. J., & Leeson, P. T. (2008). Institutional Stickiness and the New Development Economics. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 67(2), 331-358. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1536-7150.2008.00573.x

Bonacich, E. (1973). The Theory of Middleman Minorities. American Sociological Review, 38, 983-944. https://doi.org/10.2307/2094409

Boulding, K. (1974). Toward the Development of Cultural Economics. Social Science Quarterly, 267-84.

Bowles, S. (1998). Endogenous Preferences: The Cultural Consequences of Markets and Other Economics Institutions. Journal of Economic Literature, 36(1), 75-111.

Buchanan, J. (1975). The Limits of Liberty. University of Chicago Press.

Burger, T. (1976). Max Weber's Theory of Concept Formation. Duke University Press.

Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G., & Prelec, D. (2005). Neuroeconomics: How Neuroscience Can Inform Economics. Journal of Economic Literature, 43, 9-64. https://doi.org/10.1257/0022051053737843

Caulkins, D. D. (1999). Is Mary Douglas's Grid/Group Analysis Useful for Cross-Cultural Research? Cross-Cultural Research, 33(1), 108-128. https://doi.org/10.1177/106939719903300107

Chamlee-Wright, E. (1997). The cultural foundations of economic development: Urban female entrepreneurship in Ghana. Routledge.

Cherian, J. A., & Jarrow, R. A. (1998). Options markets, self-fulfilling prophecies, and implied volatilities. Review of Derivatives Research, 2(1), 5-37. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01487305

Coughlin, R. M., & Lockhart, C. (1998). Grid-group Theory and Political Ideology: A Consideration of their Relative Strengths and Weaknesses. Journal of Theoretical Politics. https://doi.org/10.1177/0951692898010001002

De Long, B., Shleifer, A., Summers, L., & Waldmann, R. (1990). Positive Feedback Investment Strategies and Destabilizing Rational Speculation. Journal of Finance, 45, 379-395. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.1990.tb03695.x

De Soto, H. (1989). The Other Path. Harper and Row.

De Soto, H. (2000). The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. Basic Books.

Di Tella, R., Galiani, S., Schargrodsky, E. (2007). The Formation of Beliefs: Evidence from the Allocation of Land Titles to Squatters. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122(1), 209-241. https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.122.1.209

Douglas, M. (1966). Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. New York: Praeger.

Douglas, M. (1978). Cultural Bias. London: Royal Anthropological Institute.

Douglas, M. (1982). Essays in the Sociology of Perception. Routledge Kegan and Paul.

Douglas, M. (2005). Grid and Group, New Developments. Workshop on Complexity and Cultural Theory in Honour of Michael Thompson.

Douglas, M., & Wildavsky, A. (1983). Risk and Culture. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520907393

Easterly, W. (2006). Planners vs. Searchers in Foreign Aid. Speech to the Asian Development Bank. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0116110506500053

Ebeling, R. (1983). An Interview with G.L.S. Shackle. The Austrian Economics Newsletter.

Evans, A. J. (2009). Constitutional Moments in Eastern Europe and Subjectivist Political Economy. Constitutional Political Economy, 20(2), 118-138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10602-008-9053-5

Evans, A. J. (2010). Only Individuals Choose. In Boettke, P. J. (Ed.), Handbook on Contemporary Austrian Economics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849806473.00007

Field, W. H. (1997). Policy and the British Voter: Council Housing, Social Change, and Party Preference in the 1980s. Electoral Studies, 16(2), 195-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-3794(97)00008-5

Garrett, G. (1992). The political consequences of Thatcherism. Political Behavior, 14(4), 361-382. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992040

Greif, A. (1994). Cultural Beliefs and the Organization of Society: A Historical and Theoretical Reflection on Collectivist and Individualist Societies. Journal of Political Economy, 102(5), 912-950. https://doi.org/10.1086/261959

Guiso, L., Sapienza, P., Zingales, L. (2006). Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(2), 23-48. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.20.2.23

Harrison, L., & Huntington, S. (2000). Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress. New York: Basic Books.

Hayek, F. A. (1942). Scientism and the Study of Society. Econometrica (New Series), 9(35), 267-291. https://doi.org/10.2307/2549540

Hayek, F. A. (1952). The Sensory Order: An Enquiry into the Foundations of Theoretical Psychology. University of Chicago Press.

Hayek, F. A. (1967). Studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226321356.001.0001

Hayek, F. A. (1973). Law Legislation and Liberty: Vol. 1 Rules and Order. University of Chicago Press.

Heckman, S. (1983). Weber, the Ideal Type, and Contemporary Social Theory. University of Notre Dame Press.

Heilbroner, R. (1990). Analysis and Vision in the History of Modern Economic Thought. Journal of Economic Literature, 28, 1097-1114.

Keynes, J. M. (1936). The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. London: Macmillan.

Keynes, J. M. (1973[1937]). The General Theory of Employment. In The Collected Writings of J. M. Keynes, vol. XIV, The General Theory and After: Part II Defence and Development. London: Macmillan for the Royal Economic Society, 109-123.

Kim, I. (1981). New Urban Immigrants. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400855674

Knight, F. H. (1921). Risk, Uncertainty and Profit. Hart, Schaffner.

Lachmann, L. M. (1970). The Legacy of Max Weber: Three Essays. Heinemann.

Lachmann, L. M. (1976). From Mises to Shackle: An Essay on Austrian Economics and the Kaleidic Society. Journal of Economic Literature, 14(1), 54-62.

Lachmann, L. M. (1994). Expectations and the Meaning of Institutions. Routledge.

Lal, D. (1997). The Poverty of Development Economics. Institute of Economic Affairs Hobart Paper (16).

Lavoie, D. (1985). Rivalry and Central Planning. Cambridge University Press.

Lavoie, D., & Chamlee-Wright, E. (2000). Culture and Enterprise. Routledge.

Light, I., & Bonacich, E. (1988). Immigrant Entrepreneurs. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520911987

Light, I., & Bhachu (1993). Immigration and Entrepreneurship. Transaction Publishers.

Lomborg, B. (2001). The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139626378

Mackenzie, D. (2000). Fear in the Markets. London Review of Books, 22(8).

Mamadouh, V. (1999). Grid-group Cultural Theory: An Introduction. GeoJournal, 47(3), 395-409. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007024008646

Mantzavinos, C., North, D. C., & Shariq, S. (2004). Learning, Institutions and Economic Performance. Perspectives on Politics, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592704000635

Merton, R. K. (1957). Social Theory and Social Structure. The Free Press.

Mises, L. v. (1957). Theory and History. Yale University Press.

Mises, L. v. (1981a[1912]). The Theory of Money and Credit. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, Inc.

Mises, L. v. (1981b[1922]). Socialism. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, Inc.

Mises, L. v. (1998[1949]). Human Action. Mises Institute, Alabama.

Moore, J. D. (1998). Visions of Culture: An Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. Walnut Creek: Alta Mira Press.

Morgan, M. S. (2006). Economic Man as Model Man: Ideal Types, Idealization and Caricatures. Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 28(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/10427710500509763

Mullainathan, S., & Thaler, R. H. (2001). Behavioral Economics. International Encyclopaedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (2), 1094-99. Oxford: Pergamon. https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/02247-6

North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511808678

North, D. C. (2005). Understanding the Process of Economic Change. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400829484

Oakerson, R. J. (1988). Reciprocity: A Bottom-Up View of Political Development. In V. Ostrom, D. Feeny, & H. Picht (Eds.), Rethinking Institutional Analysis and Development. International Center for Economic Growth.

Peart, S. J., & Levy, D. M. (2005). The "Vanity of the Philosopher": From Equality to Hierarchy in Post-Classical Economics. University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.92892

Portes, A., & Bach, R. (1985). Latin Journey: Cuban and Mexican Immigrants in the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520907317

Prychitko, D. L. (2002). Markets, Planning, and Democracy: Essays After the Collapse of Communism. Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781843767381

Rodrik, D. (Ed.). (2003). In Search of Prosperity: Analytic Narratives on Economic Growth. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400845897

Rudner, R. (1966). Philosophy of Social Science. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Schumpeter, J. A. (1954). History of Economic Analysis. NY: Oxford University Press.

Shackle, G. L. S. (1972). Epistemics and Economics: A Critique of Economics Doctrines. Cambridge University Press.

Shefrin, H. (Ed.). (2001). Behavioral Finance. Edward Elgar.

Shiller, R. J. (2000). Irrational Exuberance. Princeton University Press.

Shleifer, A. (2000). Inefficient Markets: An Introduction to Behavioral Finance. Clarendon Lectures, Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/0198292279.001.0001

Simon, H. A. (1955). A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 99, 99-118. https://doi.org/10.2307/1884852

Smith, V. L. (2003). Constructivist and Ecological Rationality in Economics. American Economic Review, 93(3), 465-508. https://doi.org/10.1257/000282803322156954

Stiglitz, J. E. (2003). Globalization and Its Discontents. W.W Norton and Company.

Thompson, M., Ellis, R., & Wildavsky, A. (1990). Cultural Theory. Westview Press, Colorado, CO.

Thompson, M., & Schwartz, M. (1990). Divided we Stand: Redefining Politics, Technology and Social Choice. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Tilly, C. (2003). Stories, Identities, and Political Change. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124-1131. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124

Vanberg, V. (1994). Rules and Choice in Economics. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203422588

Verweij, M., & Thompson, M. (Eds.). (2006). Clumsy Solutions for a Complex World: Governance, Politics and Plural Perceptions. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230624887

Wagner, R. E. (1994). Economic Efficiency, Rent Seeking, and Democracy: Zenoistic Variations on Coaseian Themes. In P. J. Boettke & M. J. Rizzo (Eds.), Advances in Austrian Economics (1), 129-144.

Waldinger, R. (1986). A Theory of Immigrant Enterprise. In Through the Eye of the Needle: Immigrants and Enterprise in New York's Garment Trades. New York University Press. Reprinted in M. Casson (Ed.) (1990), Entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Waldinger, R., Aldrich, H., & Ward, R. (1990). Ethnic Entrepreneurs. Sage.

Weber, M. (1922). Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaftslehre. J.C.B. Mohr, Tubingin.

Weber, M. (1949). Max Weber on the Methodology of the Social Sciences. New York: Free Press.

Weber, M. (1968). Economy and Society. New York: Bedminster Press.

Wilkinson, W. (2005). Review of 'Understanding the Process of Economic Change.' Cato Journal, 25(1), 172-176.

Yu, T. (2001). Entrepreneurial Alertness and Discovery. Review of Austrian Economics, 14(1), 47-63. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007855505727