This book explores how economics can be based around studies on human behaviour, rather than relying on overly simplified assumptions generated from mathematical modelling. Through examining the link between human economic activity and psychology, specifically regarding the development of cognitive and non-cognitive ability, insight into the human dimensions of economic development and the sources of human inequality are provided. This book aims to question assumptions of rationality utilised in neoclassical economic theory and suggest how economic activity can be better understood through a deeper recognition of human behaviour. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in the political economy and behavioural economics.

Since his pioneering application of economic analysis to racial discrimination, Gary S. Becker has shown that an economic approach can provide a unified framework for understanding all human behavior. In a highly readable selection of essays Becker applies this approach to various aspects of human activity, including social interactions; crime and punishment; marriage, fertility, and the family; and "irrational" behavior. "Becker's highly regarded work in economics is most notable in the imaginative application of 'the economic approach' to a surprising breadth of human activity. Becker's essays over the years have inevitably inspired a surge of research activity in testimony to the richness of his insights into human activities lying 'outside' the traditionally conceived economic markets. Perhaps no economist in our time has contributed more to expanding the area of interest to economists than Becker, and a number of these thought-provoking essays are collected in this book."—Choice Gary Becker was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Science in 1992.

Over time there has been a miscommunication between mainstream economics and human rights that has paved the way to a justificatory ideology that validates the submission of human rights to the logic of market capitalism. This book shows how the discourse of mainstream economics is intrinsically opposed to the strengthening of human rights and outlines the principles upon which a human rights-based political economy can be built. Considering a variety of recognized human rights, such as the right to water and sanitation, the right to social security, the right to work, cultural freedom and democracy, this book describes how mainstream economics theory conflicts with these rights and explores alternative modes of thinking that incorporate human rights concerns into economics. Moreover, the book also reflects on the teaching of political economy for human rights. It sets out that a political economy favourable to human rights must be pluralist, interdisciplinary, participatory, de-commodified, non-utilitarian and non-consequentialist. The author proposes that it must not only assume the performative character of economics but also, and especially, its transformative purpose. Political Economy for Human Rights will offer students, academics, activists and policy makers useful tools to understand some of the main contradictions of contemporary societies and new paths leading to a more just and fraternal world. It will also be of great interest to the general public concerned with human rights and economic issues.

This book is a timely reminder of the more fundamental determinants of capital accumulation and innovation. It provides a mixture of conceptual, empirical, historical and methodological approaches to the relationship between institutions, institutional change and economic development.

This 1995 volume demonstrates the application of Beckerian theory upon a wide range of social and political activity.

Data, methods and theories of contemporary social science can be applied to resolve how political outcomes in democratic societies determine the quality of life that citizens experience. Radcliff seeks to provide an objective answer to the debate between left and right over what public policies best contribute to people leading positive and rewarding lives. Radcliff offers an empirical answer, relying on the same canons of reason and evidence required of any other issue amenable to study through social-scientific means. The analysis focuses on the consequences of three specific political issues: the welfare state and the general size of government, labor organization, and state efforts to protect workers and consumers through economic regulation. The results indicate that in each instance, the program of the Left best contributes to citizens leading more satisfying lives and, critically, that the benefits of greater happiness accrue to everyone in society, rich and poor alike.