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Behavioral economics and the economics of Keynes

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  • Pech, Wesley
  • Milan, Marcelo

Abstract

The aim of this paper is two-fold: it first evaluates some of the psychological insights offered by Keynes in his economic theories, and secondly it weighs up these insights in the light of recent research in behavioral and experimental economics. We found that many of the psychological ideas set forth by Keynes in his economic works, especially in The General Theory, have a defensible behavioral foundation and fit broadly the actual behavior of economic agents in the real world as suggested by recent empirical evidence. As a consequence, we argue that Keynesian economics can benefit from this interaction, especially for issues related to judgment under uncertainty and building solid microfoundations for macroeconomics.

Suggested Citation

  • Pech, Wesley & Milan, Marcelo, 2009. "Behavioral economics and the economics of Keynes," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 891-902, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:38:y:2009:i:6:p:891-902
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    4. Benjamin Miranda Tabak & Dimas Mateus Fazio, 2010. "Ambiguity Aversion and Illusion of Control in an Emerging Market: Are Individuals Subject to Behavioral Biases?," Chapters, in: Brian Bruce (ed.), Handbook of Behavioral Finance, chapter 20, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Gabriel Marrero-Girona & Joseph Vogel, 2012. "Can “Monkey Business†Resolve the Most Contentious Issue in the Convention on Biological Diversity?," International Journal of Psychological Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 4(1), pages 1-55, March.
    6. Stephan Schulmeister, 2019. "Keynes und die Finanzmärkte. Auf halbem Weg vom "homo oeconomicus" zum "homo humanus"," WIFO Working Papers 588, WIFO.
    7. Gerasimos T. Soldatos & Erotokritos Varelas, 2015. "A first formal approach to animal spirits beyond uncertainty," European Journal of Government and Economics, Europa Grande, vol. 4(2), pages 104-117, December.
    8. Richard Arena & Eric Nasica, 2021. "Keynes's Methodology and the Analysis of Economic Agent Behavior in a Complex World," GREDEG Working Papers 2021-10, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    9. Khan, Mohammad Tariqul Islam & Tan, Siow-Hooi & Chong, Lee-Lee, 2017. "How past perceived portfolio returns affect financial behaviors—The underlying psychological mechanism," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1478-1488.
    10. Rémi Stellian & Gabriel I. Penagos & Jenny P. Danna-Buitrago, 2021. "Firms in financial distress: evidence from inter-firm payment networks with volatility driven by ‘animal spirits’," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 16(1), pages 59-101, January.
    11. Grant Allan & Gioele Figus & Peter G. McGregor & J. Kim Swales, 2021. "Resilience in a behavioural/Keynesian regional model," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(4), pages 858-876, June.

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