Scitovsky, behavioural economics, and beyond

Artikel

Scitovsky is known as a forerunner of behavioural economics simply because he drew heavily on psychology and claimed that people's choices may be "joyless" (Scitovsky, The joyless economy, 1976). However, a careful reformulation of his analysis shows that he anticipated a number of insights (also with respect to Kahneman's "two-systems of thought" which suggest new lines of inquiry from an original and different perspective. These insights of Scitovsky regard the following aspects: Uncertainty as a condition where the outcomes of choosing a particular option (novelty) is partially unknown; the case of individual "consumption skill" (inclusive of emotions) that finds this uncertainty desirable when it is challenging; the case of increasing such skill so as to change preferences and make choices more efficient; the case of failing to increase such skill so as to make addictive harmful products an alternative and more tempting option.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Journal: Economics: The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal ; ISSN: 1864-6042 ; Volume: 8 ; Year: 2014 ; Issue: 2014-24 ; Pages: 1-29 ; Kiel: Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; History of Economic Thought: Individuals ; Consumer Economics: Theory
• Subject: Scitovsky ; behavioural economics ; novelty ; consumption skill ; strong uncertainty ; harmful addiction

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Pugno, Maurizio
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
• (where): Kiel
• (when): 2014

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2014-24
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/99999
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:46 AM CET