Economic Rationale Research Articles

Empowering students: Unleashing the impact of economic literacy and family education on economic decision-making, with a focus on economic rationality

This research aims to describe and analyze the influence of economic literacy on student economic behavior, the influence of family financial education on student economic behavior, the impact of economic rationality on student economic behavior, and how economic rationality mediates the relationship between economic literacy and student economic behavior. Rationality economics mediates the relationship between financial education in the family and students' financial behavior. The participants in this study were all students from the State University of Malang, East Java, Indonesia, class of 2021, totaling 6,645 students with a total sample of 287 students. This study used a two-stage sampling technique. The first stage of selection in this research used a regional sampling technique (cluster sampling); in the second stage, the selection was carried out randomly (random sampling). The method used was quantitative research with path analysis techniques using the IBM SPSS-AMOS version 26 software program with structured equation modeling analysis (SEM). The model analysis results show that the constructs ECL, PEKO, RAS, PE, and their components are valid or valid as models. Research data also prove that rationality has a significant relationship with economic behavior.

К вопросу о зарождении и расширении социальных сетей китайских пограничных предпринимателей (на примере Хэйхэ и Благовещенска)

This article examines the stages, characteristics and influence of the social networks constructed by Chinese border traders in Heihe and Blagoveshchensk. In the early stages of business, Chinese traders can quickly and easily obtain capital, information, market and technologies with the help of their relatives or home fellows. However, in order to pursue longer-term business development and expand the Russian market, they later build more open, flexible, and heterogeneous social relationships based on economic rationality, especially expanding cross-border social networks with the Russian partners. With the increasingly close cooperation be-tween the border people of the two countries, the prosperity and stability of the border between the two coun-tries have been effectively guaranteed, and the social basis of Sino-Russian relations has become more solid.

The Economics of Millets in India

The article presents a compelling argument for reevaluating the role of millet production in India's economy. Millet, with its historical significance dating back to ancient civilizations and its inherent environmental resilience, indeed offers a promising avenue for sustainable agriculture in regions with limited water resources. The fact that millets require minimal inputs underscores their potential as economically efficient crops. However, despite these advantages, millets have fallen into obscurity in the 21st century. Understanding the reasons behind this downtrend and analysing the potential for revitalizing millet production is crucial. The economic rationale presented in the article sheds light on the opportunities and scope for leveraging millets to drive economic development, particularly in the Indian context. By conducting a theoretical and economic analysis based on secondary data, the article aims to uncover the underlying economic dynamics of millet production. This analytical approach provides insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with reintegrating millets into India's agricultural landscape, the article highlights the importance of reassessing the role of millet production in India's economy. By recognizing the economic potential of millets and addressing the barriers to their cultivation and consumption, policymakers can harness this ancient grain to foster sustainable agricultural practices and drive economic development.

Етична економіка як методологічний виклик постмодернізму

The article is devoted to the problem of the compatibility of the economic and ethical foundations of entrepreneurial activity. In the conditions of postmodernism, their connection is blurred by a complex interweaving of economic and ethical motives. The conclusions of researchers who study this issue often contradict actual practice. Moreover, in postmodern philosophy, ethics in the general theoretical sense was not only underestimated, but also not regarded as an acceptable phenomenon. That is why science has not developed a complex of intellectual actions that would have a universal character to neutralize the negative consequences of postmodernism. Considering the growing role of ethical issues in the modern society and their lack of development in the economic environment, it is reasonable to analyze the series of works of the German economist, philosopher and sociologist Peter Koslowski. In his studies, the issues of bridging the gap between ethics and economic rationality associated with postmodernism as a special historical era, which is characterized by a number of specific features that are critical to the emergence and deepening of socio-economic risks, are discussed in a balanced and objective manner. Due to this it is relevant to define the problems of the theory of ethical economy not in isolation, but in interaction and mutual influence with modern transformation processes of postmodernism. The productive attempt to consider these issues was made by Peter Koslowski in his fundamental works: «Postmodern Culture», «Principles of Ethical Economy», «Ethics of Banking». The purpose of this article is to consider, based on the conceptualization of Peter Koslowski’s methodological position, the theoretical concept of ethical economy as a potentially important factor in overcoming the ethical neutralization of the economic system in the postmodern period. The novelty is the definition of ethical economy as a universal theory of rational activity, which takes into account the interaction of various socio-economic factors — ethics, economy and finance, law, sociology, history — which allows it to be interpreted as a multi-subject scientific discipline, the semantic contexts of which determine behavioral choice of economic entities, consumer and humanitarian expectations of the population. The methods of hermeneutics, analysis and synthesis, comparison, abstraction and generalization were used in the research. The main conclusions of the article are characterized by theoretical innovations that can provoke methodological discussions and ultimately contribute to an in-depth study of the multifaceted issues of ethical economy. The detailed and logically consistent concept of ethical economy as a system of economic views on a fair economic order during the period of change of world history eras, change from modernity to postmodernity is presented. The normative side of ethical economy includes legal obligations, which can be properly implemented in laws. In the triad of law, ethics and economics, the principle of efficiency and social justice applies to both law itself and ethics and should be used in the development of adequate legislation.

A Research on the Dual Value Model of Individual Transaction Decision in Ethnic Chinese Society

Abstract In ethnic Chinese society, interpersonal relationships significantly influence transaction decisions, contrasting with Western economic rationality which often neglects the role of "human relationships". This research introduces a Dual Value Model (DVM) to explore how Chinese individuals navigate these complex interpersonal dynamics in transaction decisions. It highlights the integration of Potential Social Value (PSV), stemming from the counterparty's social status (vertical relationship) and emotional closeness (horizontal relationship), with Potential Economic Value (PEV), focusing on the economic outcomes of the transaction. These two potential values are defined through expectancy theory to facilitate communal comparison. This duality necessitates a balance, demonstrating a unique economic-social tradeoff where individuals might accept lower economic benefits in favor of enhancing or maintaining favorable “Guanxi.” The concept of "guanxi mark-down (GMD)" and "Compensatory Mark-up (CMU)" are introduced as strategies employed to steer this balance, reflecting the social etiquette and economic pragmatism within Chinese transactional behavior. The research aims to provide a nuanced understanding of Chinese transaction decision-making, offering insights for guiding interpersonal relationships and economic considerations in a socio-cultural context deeply influenced by Confucian principles. Keywords: Transaction decision, Dual value model (DVM), Potential social value (PSV), Potential economic value (PEV), Guanxi; Expectancy theory.

Main Influencing Factors of Interest Rates in China and Empirical Research

This study aims to investigate the influencing factors of interest rates in China, analyzing inflation, liquidity demand, and economic growth as representative variables. Initially, Grey Relational Analysis and Spearman Correlation Analysis were employed to verify the association between these variables and interest rates, revealing a significant impact of the social financing growth rate on interest rates. Furthermore, the Granger Causality Test was utilized to validate the influence of the social financing growth rate on interest rates and distinguish the impact of different economic phases on interest rates. The study also delves into the economic rationale behind interest rates through logical analysis, highlighting that the supply and demand of money are the true determinants of interest rates, with varying sensitivities across different sectors. Finally, the conclusion emphasizes the necessity of considering the financing behaviors of various economic sectors comprehensively when formulating monetary policies and predicting interest rate trends.

A New Tool to Assess the Economic Impact of Q Fever on Dairy Cattle Farms.

To support farmers in their decisions related to Q fever, a dedicated economic assessment tool is developed. The present work describes the calculator, its economic rationale, and the supporting assumptions. The calculator integrates a yearly compartmental model to represent population dynamism and the main interactions between disorders linked to Q fever, especially reproductive disorders (abortion, retained foetal membranes, purulent vaginal discharge and endometritis, extra services, and calving-conception delays). The effects of the nontangible cost of the disease on human health, the welfare of the animals, and the workload of farmers were not integrated into the model. The model shows high-level sensitivity to the prevalence of Q fever in the herd prevaccination and to the costs of abortion and extra days of calving-conception intervals. Breakeven points, i.e., cost values that allow us to achieve positive vaccination benefits, are also reported. For herds with moderate or high prevalence rates of Q fever prevaccination (>30%), a vaccination benefit is observed. The vaccine should be considered a type of insurance in herds with low prevalence rates of Q fever prevaccination (≤20%). The calculator was developed to aid decision-making at the farm level, and no conclusion can be extrapolated as a generic trend based on the present work.

People Reject Free Money and Cheap Deals Because They Infer Phantom Costs.

If money is good, then shouldn't more money always be better? Perhaps not. Traditional economic theories suggest that money is an ever-increasing incentivizer. If someone will accept a job for US$20/hr, they should be more likely to accept the same job for US$30/hr and especially for US$250/hr. However, 10 preregistered, high-powered studies (N = 4,205, in the United States and Iran) reveal how increasing incentives can backfire. Overly generous offers lead people to infer "phantom costs" that make them less likely to accept high job wages, cheap plane fares, and free money. We present a theory for understanding when and why people imagine these hidden drawbacks and show how phantom costs drive judgments, impact behavior, and intersect with individual differences. Phantom costs change how we should think about "economic rationality." Economic exchanges are not merely about money, but instead are social interactions between people trying to perceive (and deceive) each others' minds.

The farce of the commons? Corporate rights, political wrongs and common-pool resources in English towns, 1835–1870

ABSTRACT The 1832 Reform Act and the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act reconfigured political representation in English towns from a ‘franchise’ system (based on rights of corporate freedom) to a property-based ratepaying electorate. This shift also undermined the rights of freemen to urban common lands and resources, which were linked to pre-existing forms of representation. This issue links directly to debates in economic history about use-rights and the preservation of common-pool resources (CPRs). Supporters of Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom argue that such common resources could be preserved because this was the most rational economic choice facing their users. Critics have asserted that the fate of such economic resources was dictated by the historically contingent social, economic and political forces within them, not abstract economic rationality. This article assesses these arguments through a micro-study of the commons in the Yorkshire borough of Beverley between 1835 and 1870. New legislation ensured that these lands were managed in line with Ostrom’s principles of transparency and accountability. Despite this, they became entangled in wholesale, organised political corruption, exposed by a detailed Parliamentary enquiry in 1868. The article investigates this contradiction to explore how far ‘institutions’ could remain autonomous within a highly contested political ‘space’.

In search of Ubuntu in an African SME: A case of a transitional entrepreneur

ABSTRACT This study sets out to address the decontextualized discourse on African entrepreneurship and attempts to locate it within the socio-cultural context using the philosophy and principles of Ubuntu. It investigates and traces how Ubuntu informs the motive, decisions and actions of the African entrepreneur. The study contrasts the Ubuntu-based decisions of the entrepreneur with the individualistic economic rationalism expected of an entrepreneur in a typical market economy. It presents a peculiar case of a young entrepreneur who started a business in 2013 which has gone through lots of experiences and trajectories that are relevant to Ubuntu philosophy. The study is underpinned by grounded theory research design which enabled us to analyze Ubuntu values and motivation through the entrepreneur’s actions and stories. The research provides insights into the “contours” of the business journey and how social capital helps to sustain the firm. The nuances of economic rationality and humanity feature in this study as the business reached critical moments where the owner was torn between folding up and thinking about the potential impact of this decision on the employees. The research draws policy implications for entrepreneurs in Africa and encourages scholars to interrogate Westernized approaches to the concept of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship.

Connectome-based prediction of decreased trust propensity in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Trust propensity (TP) relies more on social than economic rationality to transform the perceived probability of betrayal into positive reciprocity expectations in older adults with normal cognition. While deficits in social rationality have been observed in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), there is limited research on TP and its associated resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) mechanisms in this population. To measure TP and related psychological functions (affect, motivation, executive cognition, and social cognition), MCI (n = 42) and normal healthy control (NHC, n = 115) groups completed a one-shot trust game and additional assessments of related psychological functions. RSFC associated with TP was analyzed using connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) and lesion simulations. Our behavioral results showed that the MCI group trusted less (i.e., had lower TP) than the NHC group, with lower TP associated with higher sensitivity to the probability of betrayal in the MCI group. In the MCI group, only negative CPM models (RSFC negatively correlated with TP) significantly predicted TP, with a high salience network (SN) contribution. In contrast, in the NHC group, positive CPM models (RSFC positively correlated with TP) significantly predicted TP, with a high contribution from the default mode network (DMN). In addition, the total network strength of the NHC-specific positive network was lower in the MCI group than in the NHC group. Our findings demonstrated a decrease in TP in the MCI group compared to the NHC group, which is associated with deficits in social rationality (social cognition, associated with DMN) and increased sensitivity to betrayal (affect, associated with SN) in a trust dilemma. In conclusion, our study contributes to understanding MCI-related alterations in trust and their underlying neural mechanisms.

RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION IN THE PURCHASING DECISIONS OF YOUNG CONSUMERS

This article aims to identify the importance of responsible consumption in the purchasing decisions of young consumers. For this purpose, an online survey and individual in-depth interviews were conducted among Polish students; a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods provided insights into consumers’ views and buying habits. The results show that the most important factor in purchasing decisions is economic rationality. Students demonstrate responsible behaviors that are also economically rational: purchasing fewer and longer-lasting products, only buying what they need, using products for as long as they remain functional, repairing them, and purchasing second-hand goods. On the other hand, the results of the qualitative research provide an understanding of consumers’ doubts about responsible consumption. Such findings will enrich the portrait of the Polish consumer already known from previous research.

What drives businesses to transact with complementary currencies?

There is an ongoing debate on complementary currencies’ (CCs) contribution to a transition towards resilient and sustainable economies. As part of this debate, this paper investigates which factors lead to significant acceptance and sufficient growth of a CC from a bottom-up perspective, i.e., based on its members’ decisions. First, we identify the benefits and costs driving firms’ use of CCs and find four factors that constitute a trade-off: credit gains, reciprocity expectations, coordination costs, and intrinsic motivations. Second, we use an agent-based model to explore how these elements determine CCs’ success as a network. Our key finding is that the coupling of intrinsic motivation with preferential attachment – a phenomenon where members are more likely to transact with each other rather than with outsiders – may be the key to growth and acceptance: these results suggest that intrinsic motivation provides an incentive to join the network, but preferential attachment is the emerging economic rationale that drives firms’ acceptance of CCs. The identified trade-off and the theory of intrinsic motivation-preferential attachment provide new avenues to investigate under what conditions CCs contribute to resilient economies.

Origins of the Economic Approach to Crime and Punishment

Abstract The economic approach to crime and punishment began to be applied to a research program based on a rigorous and mathematically structured theoretical model by Becker (1968. “Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach.” Journal of Political Economy 76 (2): 169–217) in his paper Crime and punishment: An economic approach. However, only brief mentions regarding the historical origins of the “economic” thought on crime and punishment can be found in the field’s pioneering modern texts. Thus, our main objective is to rebuild this history. In this paper, we do this by reviewing the thoughts of Adam Smith and Cesare Beccaria (1759–1776). In section one, we show how Smith’s position, despite being different from that of the utilitarian outlook, actually hides passages where the author comes very close to employing an economic rationale to reflect on criminality. In section two, we revisit Beccaria’s arguments and find surprising nuances and exceptions, even though he is a thinker explicitly recognized as influential by Becker and other authors linked to the Law and Economics movement. We conclude by highlighting key insights and looking for a broader history where the economic rationale on crimes and punishments can be traced back from centuries ago to modern times.

Multidimensional Impact of Dupilumab on Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps: A Complete Health Technology Assessment of Clinical, Economic, and Non-Clinical Domains.

Chronic RhinoSinusitis with Nasal Polyps (CRSwNP) represents a condition mainly caused by the type 2 inflammation presence and marked by the existence of polyps within the nasal and paranasal sinuses. The standard of care includes intranasal steroids, additional burst of systemic steroids, if needed, and surgery. However, recurrence is common, especially among patients with comorbid type 2 inflammatory diseases. Recently, biological drugs, addressing the underlying cause of the disease, have been approved in Italy (dupilumab, omalizumab, and mepolizumab). A Health Technology Assessment was conducted to define multidimensional impact, assuming Italian NHS perspective and a 12-month time horizon. The EUnetHTA Core Model was deployed, using the following methods to analyze the domains: (i) literature evidence; (ii) administration of semi-structured questionnaires to 17 healthcare professionals; (iii) health economics tools to define the economic sustainability for the system. Evidence from NMA and ITC showed a more favorable safety profile and better efficacy for dupilumab compared with alternative biologics. All the analyses, synthesizing cost and efficacy measures, showed that dupilumab is the preferable alternative. Specifically, the cost per responder analysis for dupilumab, exhibiting a 67.0% response rate at Week 52, is notably economical at 14,209EUR per responder. This presents a more economical profile compared with the cost per responder for omalizumab (36.2% response rate) at 24,999EUR and mepolizumab (28.5% response rate) at 31,863EUR. These results underscore dupilumab's potential, not merely in terms of clinical outcomes, but also in terms of economic rationality, thereby solidifying its status as a valid and preferrable alternative in the management of CRSwNP, in the context of the Italian NHS.

Training for gig workers: a systematic review and research agenda

Purpose This study aims to synthesize existing findings in the gig worker training literature and identify the training rationales adopted by these studies, using a synthesized framework of organizational training rationales. This study seeks to delineate the rationales behind gig worker training and highlight unaddressed training needs within digital platforms, ultimately proposing a research agenda for future studies in this area. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review methodology is adopted to synthesize and analyze empirical, peer-reviewed studies on gig worker training. Findings The systematic review reveals that competency and economic rationales are predominantly adopted in gig worker training studies, with the relationship rationale, common in traditional training, notably absent. This study also outlines seven future research directions to highlight identified challenges and unaddressed training needs. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first work that systematically reviews existing findings on gig worker training.

Ambivalence in Environmental Care: Marine Care Ethics and More-Than-Human Relations in the Conservation of Seagrass Posidonia oceanica

Posidonia oceanica is an endemic seagrass from the mediterranean that provides key ecosystem services. A protected species, its presence is regressing due to anthropogenic pressures, some associated to the tourism economy that much of the Mediterranean coast depends on. In 1992, the European Union declared it a priority habitat, and since the early 2000s, it has occupied a central space in marine conservation debates in the Balearic Islands. Popularly known as Posidonia, this seagrass went from being considered dirt that ruined virgin Balearic beaches to become an emblematic species. This article takes this U-turn in policy and public perception as a study case to think of knowledge-making practices and restoration initiatives as a form of environmental care. The relational, situated and affective character of care ethics helps to understand the human and ecological labour embedded in knowledge-making and restoration practices and its inevitable engagement with the Balearic tourism industry. Drawing on those engagements, I reflect on environmental care practices of knowledge-making and restoration, arguing that they emerge ambivalently: they challenge management logics based on economic rationales while forced to develop and coexist inside those same rationales. I conclude by arguing that developing care-centric narratives for environmental conservation and restoration is essential to continue promoting more-than-human aquatic relations in which the needs of others are the ethical basis for action.

What compels bipartisan lawmakers to support coral reef legislation in the U.S. Congress

As coral reef ecosystems disappear at an alarming rate, the United States and the wider world need bold policy action to stop the loss of climate sensitive ecosystems like coral reefs. How are coral reef conservation policies making it onto the policy agenda? This research analyzes the rationale behind partisan policy-maker support for conservation of climate-vulnerable ecosystems. Using public policy theory that focused on theories of communication including framing and ambiguity, the authors evaluated 137 policy documents from three cases of conservation policy at international, national, and subnational scales. This research finds that legislators from different political parties have two main rationales for supporting coral reef conservation policy: ideas of governance and economics. Coral reefs are used by legislators to showcase their capacity to enact governance in a bipartisan way. Lawmakers from both parties increasingly prioritize grass roots or community-based conservation conservation as their preferred institutional framework for governance as seen in our data. For economic rationale, lawmakers emphasize community development efforts that complement coral reef conservation. Other significant predictors of rationale for support for coral reef conservation policy include lawmakers belonging to the Democratic Party, possessing a long-term liberal ideology, and coming from states that have coral reefs or coastlines.This study proposes a new model of why decision-makers support conservation policy which includes the presence of agreement on governance, human well-being, economics, geography, home ecosystems amid differing political parties. This research provides evidence of how conservation policy agendas are set despite gridlock in legislatures, and how more controversial policies (e.g. those that address climate change) may come to be included on the future agenda.

Highly logical and non-emotional decisions in both risky and social contexts: understanding decision making in autism spectrum disorder through computational modeling.

In risky contexts, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) individuals exhibit more logical consistency and non-emotional decisions than do typical adults (TAs). This way of deciding could be also prevailing in social contexts, leading to maladaptive decisions. This evidence is scarce and inconsistent, and further research is needed. Recent developments in computational modeling allow analysis of decisional subcomponents that could provide valuable information to understand the decision-making and help address inconsistencies. Twenty-seven individuals with ASD and 25 TAs were submitted to a framing-task and the ultimatum game (UG). The Rescorla-Wagner computational model was used to analyze UG decisions. Results showed that in the UG, the ASD group exhibited a higher utilitarianism, characterized by lower aversion to unfairness and higher acceptance of offers. Moreover, this way of deciding was predicted by the higher economic rationality found in the framing task, where people with ASD did not manifest emotional biases such as framing effect. These results could suggest an atypical decision making, highly logical and non-emotional, as a robust feature of ASD.

Traditional Medicine: Where Are the Lives, Suffering, Violence, and Mortality Rates of Indigenous Peoples?

This article analyzes the exclusion and sidelining evident in local studies on traditional medicine and a whole series of processes related to health, illness, healthcare, and prevention in the lives of Indigenous peoples, many of which are part of their practices and customs. The main forms of exclusion examined herein are related to disease, especially maternal mortality, but alsoto domestic violence, childbirth, and the forced marriage of children and adolescents.The analysis sheds light on how native cultural processes are excludedfrom these studies on traditional medicine, creating a biased, distorted vision of the lives of Indigenous peoples today and hindering an understanding of their social, cultural, and economic rationale.