Updating neoclassical economics with contemporary conceptions of homo economicus: a bibliometric analysis

Inderasan Munien () and Arnesh Telukdarie ()
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Inderasan Munien: University of Johannesburg Johannesburg Business School
Arnesh Telukdarie: University of Johannesburg Johannesburg Business School

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2025, vol. 59, issue 2, No 7, 1123-1151

Abstract: Abstract The postulation of rationality pervading neoclassical economics, having found to be lacking in veracity, necessitates an update of Homo economicus in neoclassical economics. An empirical formulation of economics predicated on an evolutionary framework of cognitive development is widely akcnowledged to expand the application and utility of economic models and this study identifies the key research areas associated with the contemporisation of neoclassical economics and reviews the extant body of knowledge on the status of the endeavour. A co-occurring keyword procedure is used to perform a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the extent to which the body of knowledge has progressed with updating the conception of Homo economicus in neoclassical economics. Data obtained from the Scopus and Web of Science databases are subjected to treatment by the procedure which ultimately reflects the relevance and quantity of research output related to the objective of updating neoclassical economics. The results show that, apart from the area of cognitive biases, the research contribution from the identified focus areas are insufficient with 14 of the 18 fields contributing only 12% of the research ouput related to the updating of neoclassical economics. The key insight of this study is that while the failures of neoclassical economics have been well documented in the literature, the effort to improve economic predictions to better approach reality by updating the characterisation of Homo economicus with evidence based findings relating to human behaviour is still immature. It is recommended that the computational and analytical tools endowed by the digital revolution be employed to close the research gap enabling the creation of debiasing strategies and acucrate economic predictions.

Keywords: Homo Economicus; Cognitive biases; Evolutionary psychology; Behavioural economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-024-02007-4

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