Sublime

When we do, we assume the politicians are clients in a patron–client relationship, and we assume their obligations will cloud their impartial judgment.

The take-home message from Schelling’s story—that incentives sometimes backfire—is familiar to psychologists.

But it can also go the other way. What economics has missed is that adding an incentive—a fine or a bonus—may be subtracting something else, the individual’s sense of responsibility, or obligation, or intrinsic pleasure.

There frankly is a hell of a lot of value in the game theory and economics literature.

On appelle parfois ce principe « loi de Price », en hommage à Derek J. de Solla Price13, le chercheur qui a découvert son application scientifique en 1963.

Most economists now accept the need for more realistic assumptions in economic theory; and methodologies such as network analysis, heterogeneous agent models, evolutionary game theory, and economic lab experiments are becoming standard.

Professor Howard Raiffa’s maximum bid of others (or MBOO, pronounced “maboo”) analysis, which captures the fundamental trade-off in graphical form.