Identity Economics
Identity Economics provides an important and compelling new way to understand human behavior. It reveals how our identities—and not just economic incentives—influence our decisions. It explains how our conception of who we are and who we want to be may shape our economic lives more than any other factor, affecting how hard we work, and how we learn, spend and save. Identity economics is a new way to understand people's decisions—at work, at school, and at home. Identity Economics bridges a critical gap in the social sciences. It brings identity and norms to economics.
Praise for Identity Economics
"In the regular economic discourse of markets and taxes, we often forget about the forces that truly make a large difference in our lives. In Identity Economics, we sit on an economic porch with Rachel Kranton and George Akerlof, observing what we care about most--our identity."
— Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
"In Identity Economics, George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton team up to bring people and their passions into economic analysis. Moving away from conventional accounts, they propose a bold paradigm to explain why and how identity and social norms shape economic decision making. With verve and insight, the book transforms standard economic understandings of organizations, schools, gender segregation, and racial discrimination. This new enlightened economics opens up a bright future for serious collaboration between economists and sociologists."
— Viviana A. Zelizer, author of The Purchase of Intimacy
"This intriguing book shows how much can be learned when you add the tools of economics to the other intellectual resources now available for thinking about the power of identity. George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton report the results of technical modeling without immersing the reader in the technicalities. The result is an accessible work of commendable clarity."
— Kwame Anthony Appiah, author of The Ethics of Identity
"Identity Economics blends elements of psychology with traditional economic analysis. The writing is clear, interesting, and light on jargon. The interplay between theoretical predictions and concrete examples is particularly successful. It brings fascinating developments at the frontier of economics within reach of a wide audience."
— H. Peyton Young, University of Oxford
"Identity Economics is full of creative and interesting thoughts that will delight and intrigue those who read it. The writing is lucid and accessible with a minimum of standard economics jargon, making it possible for the book to have a wide readership across the social sciences."
— Timothy Besley, London School of Economics and Political Science