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Rational choice without closure: the microfoundations of virtuous cycles and vicious circles

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  • Adam Martin

Abstract

Economic stories with a rational choice structure usually entail closure or equilibrium. This paper argues that Knightian uncertainty and Kirznerian alertness allow economists to construct plausible accounts of open-ended processes such as virtuous cycles and vicious circles without abandoning the centrality of instrumental rationality. The basic form of such stories is explored and two example cases are put forward.

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  • Adam Martin, 2011. "Rational choice without closure: the microfoundations of virtuous cycles and vicious circles," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(4), pages 345-361, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jecmet:v:18:y:2011:i:4:p:345-361
    DOI: 10.1080/1350178X.2011.628044
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    Cited by:

    1. Martin, Adam, 2012. "Discovering rhetoric: The ecology of enterprise in the Bourgeois Era," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 757-762.
    2. William F. Shughart & Diana W. Thomas & Michael D. Thomas, 2020. "Institutional Change and the Importance of Understanding Shared Mental Models," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(3), pages 371-391, August.
    3. Adam Martin, 2020. "The subjectivist-contrarian position," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 479-494, June.
    4. Shruti Rajagopalan, 2023. "Mises's dynamics of interventionism: Lessons from Indian agriculture," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(3), pages 657-679, January.

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