The New Economics of Human Behaviour

These essays address Beckerian theory, asserting that all social and political activity is motivated by economic interests and affected by economic consequences. Rational choice theory, applying economic reasoning, expands the domain of economics to the whole spectrum of human interaction. This 1995 volume views important social and political issues through the eyes of economists. Pioneered by Gary Becker, this approach asserts that all actions, whether working, playing, dating, or mating, have economic motivations and consequences, and can be analysed using economic reasoning. Intended as an introduction to the current state of the field, the essays are informal and non-technical, while still using up-to-date economic reasoning to illuminate such topics as crime, marriage, discrimination, immigration, fads and fashions. The expanding domain of economics is illustrated, as problems from sociology, political science, anthropology, and public policy are all included in this Beckerian view: the world of human interaction, as seen by an economist.