Studies at the Intersection of Philosophy and Economics

 

Werner Güth

Contrary to communitarian market criticism institutions relying on money and bidding can strengthen faculties of self-governance‘. Securing procedurally egalitarian bidding on the basis of declared monetary evaluations guarantees that all realized changes of a status quo are in an objective‘ (pecuniary) sense equally advantageous for all members of the community. We show how to use this idea in the context of Elinor Ostrom type common(s) projects. Empirical evidence on procedurally fair bidding‘ is presented. The practical scope and limits of procedural egalitarianism need further empirical exploration but money may be the best means to express moral values in communitarian consent‘.
Human decision making is a process guided by different and partly competing motivations that can each dominate behavior and lead to different effects depending on strength and circumstances. `Over-stylizing‘ neglects such competing concerns and context-dependence, although it facilitates the emergence of elaborate general theories. We illustrate by examples from social dilemma experiments and inequality aversion theories that sweeping empirical claims should be avoided.

Journal Information

RMM is an interdisciplinary open access journal focusing on issues of rationality, market mechanisms, and the experimental method of reasoning into moral subjects. It provides a forum for dialogue between philosophy, economics, and related disciplines, encouraging critical reflection on the foundations and implications of economic processes.

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