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Curated by Project Syndicate

The Future of Homo Economicus

4 commentaries

The 2008 global financial crisis undermined the widespread belief that economics is akin to the natural sciences, with supposedly immutable laws enabling accurate prediction. One result of this reckoning is that more economists are embracing the social – even the inspirational – side of the dismal science.

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  1. The Moral Identity of Homo Economicus
    Making choice Juanmonino/Getty Images

    The Moral Identity of Homo Economicus

    Nov 7, 2017 Ricardo Hausmann describes an incipient intellectual revolution that could turn the dismal science into a more inspiring pursuit.

  2. Another Nobel Surprise for Economics
    Richard Thaler Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Another Nobel Surprise for Economics

    Oct 10, 2017 Robert J. Shiller views the selection of this year's laureate, Richard Thaler, as further vindication of the behavioral approach.

  3. Economic Crises and the Crisis of Economics
    Millennium footbridge Ben Stansall/Getty Images

    Economic Crises and the Crisis of Economics

    Jan 13, 2017 Paola Subacchi calls on economists to develop a new code of conduct to restore their profession's credibility.

  4. Economists vs. Economics
    Paul Krugman Panayiotis Tzamaros/ZumaPress

    Economists vs. Economics

    Sep 10, 2015 Dani Rodrik examines the recent wave of criticism of the discipline by its leading figures.

  1. buiter45_Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post via Getty Image_jeromepowell Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    Price Stability vs. Financial Stability?

    Willem H. Buiter

    If the US Federal Reserve raises its policy interest rate by as much as is necessary to rein in inflation, it will most likely further depress the market value of the long-duration securities parked on many banks' balance sheets. So be it.

    thinks central banks can achieve both, despite the occurrence of a liquidity crisis amid high inflation.
  2. frankel145_ Richard Baker  In Pictures via Getty Images_exchangerates Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images

    Fifty Years of Floating Currencies

    Jeffrey Frankel explains why the shift toward exchange-rate flexibility after 1973 was not a policy failure, as many believed.
  3. harrington34_Drew AngererGetty Images_avril haines Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    What Do America’s Spies Really Think About China?

    Kent Harrington thinks the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment should have delved deeper on the issue.
  4. grafton2_ SIMON MAINAAFP via Getty Images_water SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images

    Waking Up to the World’s Water Crisis

    Quentin Grafton, et al. see three overarching priorities for the first global water conference in almost a half-century.
  5. benami199_BULENT KILICAFP via Getty Images_ukraine BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images

    Peace Requires Betrayal

    Shlomo Ben-Ami shows why Ukraine and Russia will most likely have to pursue an unpopular endgame to stop the bloodshed.
  6. reichlin29_David L. RyanThe Boston Globe via Getty Images_svb David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    Lessons from the SVB Collapse

    Lucrezia Reichlin

    Although Silicon Valley Bank was not deemed to be systemically important, its insolvency forced the US Federal Reserve to head off systemic contagion and exposed the inadequacy of the FDIC’s partial deposit insurance regime. The financial-stability framework adopted after the 2008 crisis obviously needs another overhaul.

    considers what the bank’s failure should mean for the current financial-stability framework.
  7. foglia4_kentohGetty Images_bankingregulations kentoh/Getty Images

    It’s the Banking Regulations, Stupid

    Antonio Foglia traces the Silicon Valley Bank failure back to fundamental flaws in the prevailing governance framework.
  8. mazzucato52_Mario TamaGetty Images_water agriculture drought Mario Tama/Getty Images

    Confronting the Global Water Crisis

    Mariana Mazzucato, et al. offer a seven-point blueprint for preserving one of the planet’s most important natural systems.
  9. op_haass3_Chris HondrosGetty Images_iraqwar Chris Hondros/Getty Images

    Revisiting America’s War of Choice in Iraq

    Richard Haass considers the enduring lessons from a foreign intervention that was both ill-conceived and poorly executed.

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