Introduction

Maurizio Bovi
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Maurizio Bovi: Sapienza University of Rome

Chapter Chapter 1 in The Invisible Handshake, 2026, pp 1-9 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This book investigates the epistemic convergence between formal economic inquiry and the corpus of proverbial wisdom. Grounded in the perspective of economics as the study of mankind in the ordinary business of life, the analysis positions both domains as complementary heuristic systems designed to manage uncertainty, scarcity, and pattern recognition. While economics seeks analytical abstraction and predictive specification, proverbs provide culturally situated rules of thumb that translate complex social constraints—such as opportunity cost or risk management—into portable, prescriptive guidance. This brief shows how proverbs function as micro-lessons in economic reasoning. It also explores the fluid nature of both economic modeling and folk wisdom, both of which must evolve alongside shifts in technology, institutions, and policy. Finally, this study addresses the inherent adaptability of both systems, showing that internal contradictions within folk sayings reflect context-dependent, state-contingent strategies rather than logical incoherence. Ultimately, the book’s distinctive contribution lies in its invitation to examine the interplay between popular wisdom, the findings of economic science, human behavior, and the functioning of economic systems—an examination that, we believe, can help shed light on questions worth pursuing further.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:spbchp:978-3-032-25194-7_1

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-25194-7_1

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