The Concept of Norm-Governed Productivity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham A. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Chicago School ◽  
Market Failures ◽  
Moral Question ◽  
Cooperative Relationships ◽  
Privately Owned

The chapter subjects the Chicago school to critique. It starts by reviewing the different views of Coasian thought that were reviewed in Part I. This chapter offers a third approach, which brings Coase’s overlooked views about moral psychology to bear on the question of the corporation. In this view, it is the cultivation of cooperative social norms, not the contractual allocation of governing rights, that allows firms to economize on market failures. This idea is referred to as “norm-governed productivity.” According to this view, firms are not “privately owned markets,” nor do they merely alter people’s decision-making through coercion or incentives; instead, firms work by altering preferences in order to foster cooperative relationships. This conception of corporate efficiency invites the moral question as to whether the relationships being cultivated are good or bad, a question that cannot be short-circuited by the economist’s recourse to choice and preference.

Cooperation and obligation in early parent-child relationships

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross A. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Social Agency ◽  
Infant Survival ◽  
Peer Experiences ◽  
Early Experiences ◽  
Early Parent ◽  
Collaborative Skills ◽  
Parent Child Relationships

Abstract Tomasello's moral psychology of obligation would be developmentally deepened by greater attention to early experiences of cooperation and shared social agency between parents and infants, evolved to promote infant survival. They provide a foundation for developing understanding of the mutual obligations of close relationships that contribute (alongside peer experiences) to growing collaborative skills, fairness expectations, and fidelity to social norms.

Angling for Influence: Institutional Proliferation in Development Banking

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Market Failures ◽  
Multilateral Development Banks ◽  
Institutional Control ◽  
Bretton Woods ◽  
Global Power ◽  
Identification Strategy

Abstract Why do states build new international organizations (IOs) in issue areas where many institutions already exist? Prevailing theories of institutional creation emphasize their ability to resolve market failures, but adding new IOs can increase uncertainty and rule inconsistency. I argue that institutional proliferation occurs when existing IOs fail to adapt to shifts in state power. Member states expect decision-making rules to reflect their underlying power; when it does not, they demand greater influence in the organization. Subsequent bargaining over the redistribution of IO influence often fails due to credibility and information problems. As a result, under-represented states construct new organizations that provide them with greater institutional control. To test this argument, I examine the proliferation of multilateral development banks since 1944. I leverage a novel identification strategy rooted in the allocation of World Bank votes at Bretton Woods to show that the probability of institutional proliferation is higher when power is misaligned in existing institutions. My results suggest that conflict over shifts in global power contribute to the fragmentation of global governance.

Impaired Perception of Unintentional Transgression of Social Norms after Prefrontal Cortex Damage: Relationship to Decision Making, Emotion Recognition, and Executive Functions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riadh Ouerchefani ◽  
Naoufel Ouerchefani ◽  
Mohamed Riadh Ben Rejeb ◽  
Didier Le Gall
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Iowa Gambling Task ◽  
Gambling Task ◽  
Basic Emotions

Abstract Objective Patients with prefrontal cortex damage often transgress social rules and show lower accuracy in identifying and explaining inappropriate social behavior. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the ability to perceive other unintentional transgressions of social norms and both decision making and emotion recognition as these abilities are critical for appropriate social behavior. Method We examined a group of patients with focal prefrontal cortex damage (N = 28) and a group of matched control participants (N = 28) for their abilities to detect unintentional transgression of social norms using the “Faux-Pas” task of theory of mind, to make advantageous decisions on the Iowa gambling task, and to recognize basic emotions on the Ekman facial affect test. Results The group of patients with frontal lobe damage was impaired in all of these tasks compared with control participants. Moreover, all the “Faux-Pas”, Iowa gambling, and emotion recognition tasks were significantly associated and predicted by executive measures of inhibition, flexibility, or planning. However, only measures from the Iowa gambling task were associated and predicted performance on the “Faux-Pas” task. These tasks were not associated with performance in recognition of basic emotions. These findings suggest that theory of mind, executive functions, and decision-making abilities act in an interdependent way for appropriate social behavior. However, theory of mind and emotion recognition seem to have distinct but additive effects upon social behavior. Results from VLSM analysis also corroborate these data by showing a partially overlapped prefrontal circuitry underlying these cognitive domains.

Democracy in the Firm

2021 ◽  
pp. 38-59
Author(s):  
Hervé Crès ◽  
Mich Tvede
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Collective Decision ◽  
Majority Voting ◽  
Optimal Rate ◽  
Collective Decision Making ◽  
Market Failures ◽  
Democratic Principle ◽  
The Social ◽  
Decision Making Problem

The problem of collective decision-making arising from market failures is addressed using the democratic principle applied within the assembly of shareholders. A basic requirement is imposed (the Pareto principle): collective choices should not be at odds with the interests of all shareholders, as expressed by their preferences. This requirement puts bounds on what the collective can choose: it should remain within the set of averages of what the shareholders want. Further refining these bounds, a notion of political stability is proposed; it is defined with respect to (super) majority voting. One searches for the smallest rate of super majority for which a stable collective choice exists. This optimal rate is reviewed under classical assumptions from the social choice literature. It is shown how the dimensionality of the collective decision-making problem and the polarization of the electorate critically impact political stability, and hence the optimal rate of super majority.

Ethics for Complex Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 62-82
Author(s):  
James Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Real World ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Thought Experiments ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Causal Models ◽  
Government Action ◽  
Evidence Collection

This chapter argues that the scale of the challenge posed by external validity requires a similarly sizeable response. Not only should practitioners approach evidence collection and interventions in policy differently, but philosophers should also change the way they conceive of ethics. The default should no longer be to start from simplistic causal models or thought experiments, while being dimly aware that these approaches will exclude some features that would be relevant for real-world decision-making. Rather, both practitioners and philosophers should start from the premise that social processes are complex systems. Moreover, complex systems are in important aspects performative: for example, what counts as a breach of trust, or a violation of privacy, is not something that can be discovered once and for all, but is partly constituted by social norms and individual expectations, which will themselves change in response to government action.

Why So Much Consensus?

2021 ◽  
pp. 95-115
Author(s):  
Hervé Crès ◽  
Mich Tvede
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Market Failure ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Collective Decision ◽  
Collective Decision Making ◽  
Pareto Principle ◽  
Market Failures ◽  
Full Agreement ◽  
Clear Cut

An even more holistic approach to the problem is adopted by looking at how collective decision-making impacts the choices and characteristics of individual agents, e.g. their shareholdings, their beliefs about economic prospects, or even their preferences. The thesis is that individual characteristics shape collective choices and are at the same time shaped by them, forming a duality between persons and groups. The analysis is deployed on the network of affiliation of investors to firms. Indeed, suppose the Pareto principle holds at both the collective and individual levels, then a full agreement between all agents occurs within a cluster of investors and firms, despite potentially severe market failures—the ‘single thought’ theorem. Efficiency results from the endogeneity of individual characteristics, yet the theorem is strikingly strong and clear-cut. An analysis of what it takes for the Pareto principle to hold is proposed in each of the three contexts of market failure.

scholarly journals Organizational and Individual Innovation Decisions in an Interorganizational System: Social Influence and Decision-Making Authority

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-521
Author(s):  
Jiawei Sophia Fu ◽  
Michelle Shumate ◽  
Noshir Contractor
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Influence ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Social Information Processing ◽  
Innovation Adoption ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Interorganizational System

Abstract This study examines the processes of complex innovation adoption in an interorganizational system. It distinguishes the innovation adoption mechanisms of organizational-decision-makers (ODMs), who make authority adoption decisions on behalf of an organization, from individual-decision-makers (IDMs), who make optional innovation decisions in their own work practice. Drawing on the Theory of Reasoned Action and Social Information Processing Theory, we propose and test a theoretical model of interorganizational social influence. We surveyed government health-care workers, whose advice networks mostly span organizational boundaries, across 1,849 state health agencies in Bihar, India. The collective attitudes of coworkers and advice network members influence health-care workers’ attitudes and perceptions of social norms toward four types of innovations. However, individuals’ decision-making authority moderates these relationships; advisors’ attitudes have a greater influence on ODMs, while perceptions of social norms only influence IDMs. Notably, heterogeneity of advisors’ and coworkers’ attitudes negatively influence IDMs’ evaluations of innovations but not ODMs’.

scholarly journals Reducing the Consumer Attitude–Behaviour Gap in Animal Welfare: The Potential Role of ‘Nudges’

Animals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Vigors
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Farm Animal ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Consumer Attitude ◽  
Choice Architecture ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Farm Animal Welfare

Citizen concern for the welfare of farm animals is well documented. However, there is a notable gap between people saying they want improved farm animal welfare and how they actually behave as a consumer. This is known as the citizen–consumer attitude–behaviour gap. As improvements in farm animal welfare can be affected by market demand, the choices consumers make become important. This paper introduces the concept of ‘nudging’ and discusses how it could be applied to reduce the attitude–behaviour gap amongst consumers. By designing the choice environment to better reflect the behavioural biases known to impact human decision-making, ‘nudge’ tools function to prompt individuals to make choices that are aligned with their stated intentions. Four ‘nudge’ tools: self-nudges, choice architecture, social norms and pre-commitments are discussed. The behavioural rationales for their use are reviewed and examples of how they might be applied to animal welfare provided. Improved farm animal welfare arguably requires improved pro-welfare consumer behaviour. This paper highlights how this might be encouraged by: self-nudging the salience of an ethical self-image; altering the choice architecture to influence decision-making; articulating social norms to impact behaviour; and using pre-commitment devices to overcome self-control issues.

I Eat, Therefore I Am

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Kelly ◽  
Nicolae Morar
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Social Roles ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Run Up

This chapter examines the set of relations that hold between food and cuisine, eating and dining, and norms, social roles, and identities, in a way that continues to be informed by current work in empirical moral psychology. It unpacks the notion of a social role in terms of social norms, the often unwritten rules that regulate behavior and social interactions, and describes recent empirical work that illuminates the power and psychological underpinning of norm-based cognition, with an emphasis on how disgust animates many food norms. Finally, it discusses the ethical implications of this perspective for assessing food norms and considers how attempts to alter a person’s eating habits can run up against deep and distinctive forms of psychological resistance when they are also attempts to change who she is.

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