Toward a neo-Darwinian synthesis of neoclassical and behavioral economics

Terence Burnham

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2013, vol. 90, issue S, S113-S127

Abstract: There is a schism within economics between the neoclassical and behavioral schools. A primary cause of the behavioral ascent is the experimental evidence of deviations between actual behavior and the neoclassical prediction of behavior. While behavioral scholars have documented these “anomalies,” they have made little progress explaining the origin of such behavior. This paper proposes a biological and evolutionary foundation for the anomalies of behavioral economics by separating proximate and ultimate causation. Such a foundation may allow for a re-uniting of economics; a neo-Darwinian synthesis of neoclassical and behavioral economics.

Keywords: Evolution; Neoclassical economics; Behavioral economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B52 D01 D11 D64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:90:y:2013:i:s:p:s113-s127

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2012.12.015

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