Moral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the Economy
"Moral Marketschallenges the 'homo economicus' rational choice framework of mainstream economics with 15 chapters contributed by a team researching the nature of values in economic thinking. Zak has compiled what may become a starting point for further work on this topic, given the volume's scope and creative insights. After philosophical reflections from Aristotle to Adam Smith on the origin and nature of values, the readings focus on evolutionary processes that form values like fairness and reciprocity. . . . [T]his collection is important in helping to reconsider the value-free claims of economics."--J. Halteman, Wheaton College, forCHOICE"The book's span is huge, taking in cooperation among chimpanzees, the status of moral emotions, and the role of contract law in encouraging trustworthy behaviour, as well as areas more familiar to economists such as the effect of incentive schemes on employee effort. . . .Moral Marketsis an interesting and valuable book, addressing important and under-researched questions."--Joe Perkins,World Economics"Moral Marketsis a fascinating indicator in its own right of trends in thinking about markets. . . . This . . . should be part of strategic thinking for any senior manager, in library work and beyond. This is also an attractive addition to the economics and business ethics shelves of any academic library."--Stuart Hannabuss,Library Review"Moral Marketsis challenging not only because it brings to bear a wide variety of scientific fields of inquiry but also because it is willing to buck widely held assumptions about markets and what human nature really is. By drawing the best available science, it manages to offer a sense both of objectivity and of hope that perhaps we are not as nasty and brutish as we sometimes seem."--Ray Bert,Civil Engineering"This is an interesting and important collection of essays, indicating some important shifts of thinking and some of the positive benefits of work in 'neuro-economics'."--Geoffrey M Hodgson,Journal of Economic Issues"Moral Marketsprovides the serious student of business, government, and society with the necessary intellectual tools to reengineer their knowledge and practice of virtue, and perhaps enlighten them on why and how 'goodness' ultimately serves society."--Sean D. Jasso, PhD,Graziado Business Report"Everyone who is vaguely interested in how motivated choice interacts with morals should own this collection. The bibliographies span a dozen research areas and offer precise guidance to enter ongoing discussions."--David M. Levy,Journal of Bioeconomics"Moral Marketsprovides a surprising and fundamentally new view of economic one that also reconnects the field to Adam Smith's position that morality has a biological basis."--World Book Industry